Reunion: Birth by Sleep
by Star Tours Traveler
Summary: A mysterious Dark power is rising. 3 are chosen to find a missing apprentice and help destroy the darkness before it is too late. Prequel fic to Reunion. Uses elements and characters from the upcoming KH game Birth by Sleep.
1. Prologue

Summary: A mysterious Dark power is rising. 3 are chosen to find a missing apprentice and help destroy the darkness before it is too late. Prequel to my recent fic, Reunion. Uses elements and characters from the upcoming KH game Birth by Sleep.

A/N: To those who haven't read Reunion, It doesn't really matter if you read this first or Reunion, it seems to me that it would make sense not to read Reunion first, so then when this is done and you have read this fic you can go and read Reunion and things will probably be more entertaining.

Also for those of you who enjoyed the pre- and post-chapter commentary by the various characters…I'm sorry to say that this won't be happening in this fic…I just can't find a way for it to work.

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this fic…except the fic itself. Also none of the info in this fic is to be considered actual information about the game Birth by Sleep; for I am bending the info we have already to my will (evil grin).

* * *

They say that a lot can happen in one year…well whoever said that wasn't kidding.

The universe as we knew it, was a lot different than it is now.

How you ask?

Simple…

This is a period where gummy ship travel was never more popular. Gummy ships could travel between several different worlds…worlds such as Spira, Midgar, Radiant Garden, and the famous Montressor Spaceport to name a few. However certain, less advanced worlds are forbidden by gummy ship travel.

One major aspect of the worlds is the inter-stellar corporation "Buy-n-Large," or BNL for short, a company that owns countless superstores across the universe.

What's more, they are experts at developing robotics technology.

Plus no one can get their commercial music out of their heads…

"_Buy-n-large  
Superstore  
all you need  
and so much more."_

"_Happiness  
is what we sell  
that's why everyone  
loves B.N.L."_

See what I mean?

But things aren't so mechanical and corporate in the rest of the known universe…

In fact magic and technology have been known to coexist with each other.

There also are legends; one of them is about a mysterious and powerful object called Kingdom Hearts…no one knows what or where it is. Some say that it is everlasting darkness, while others say its everlasting light.

Legend also speaks of a mysterious weapon called a Keyblade. Rumored to be a powerful sword capable of destroying users and beings of both light and darkness, though it is also said that the Keyblade is sentient and chooses it's wielder, however like the average person, it can sometimes make the wrong choice.

Another rumor says that the darkness is growing, as a herald of a great tragedy set to befall the worlds…however most people don't believe these rumors.

However little do people suspect that these rumors are going to have a more profound effect on them than they realize…

* * *

**In an unknown location…**

A mysterious figure in black robes walks through a long dark hallway, a light at the end of the tunnel, faint yet clear like a flickering candle against a marble floor lights the way. The figure enters the room the light is emanating from, revealing a dark chamber.

The figure stands tall, as another figure with two large horns and carrying a long staff, approaches from the other side.

"Excellent, you have arrived…" the hooded figure says calmly.

"What does the master ask of me?" a cold, dark, yet feminine voice replies.

"There are several things he asks of you…all of which you shall find as compensation unto itself." The hooded figure replied.

"Really…and what would they be?" she asks.

"One thing at a time Maleficent…" He responds.

"The time of technology draws to a close…first…we must deal with Spira." He adds.

"Then deal with Midgar." The figure said as Maleficent smiles with evil delight.

"Then destroy Montressor Spaceport, as an example of our power…and once everyone has realized that all hope is lost, we go after Kingdom Hearts and take it for our own." The figure finished as the woman arched an eyebrow.

"But Kingdom Hearts is a…" before she could finish the figure held out his hand and in the blink of an eye a black and red key shaped object appeared in it.

"So…the legends are true…the Keyblades DO exist." Maleficent said with a grin.

"Yes…and so is Kingdom Hearts." The figure adds.

"Then that means the worlds will soon be at OUR mercy." Maleficent said with a laugh that then grew into an evil cackle.

* * *

**End Chapter 1.**

Please R&R.


	2. When Dawn Comes

On the edge of a world known as Twilight Town, in a part only accessible by a mysterious train, there is a large tower. The top of the tower is a straight blue cone with white stars and moons all over it.

On the top floor in the highest room of the tower is where the two only residents of the tower reside.

It was night at the tower, and all was quiet, not a creature was steering, except for Mickey Mouse.

Mickey Mouse…a truly caring soul…Mickey had worked for many years as a Steamboat worker for a man named Pete, until a few years earlier, when they started building a castle in his world which brought the steamboat business to a halt.

Master Yen Sid had found Mickey as he traveled the worlds searching for a new apprentice. He found Mickey had a unique ability…one that very few had…the mouse could wield a Keyblade.

At that particular moment Mickey had his eye on a truly magical object…Master Yen Sid's magical wizard's hat, which the wizard usually kept out on his desk.

Mickey only wanted to try it on for size…that and try to take care of one of his more menial tasks, keeping the well full of fresh water.

He silently crept across the floor, he was inching closer and closer to it, he reached out to grab it and was mere inches away when suddenly the door to Yin Sid's room flew open and the elder wizard stood there with his eyes as wide as they could be.

Mickey grinned innocently and quickly put his hands behind his back leaving the hat alone.

But Yen Sid's eyes were not like that because of Mickey...it was because of something else.

Yen Sid put a hand to his forehead and walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair. That's when Mickey noticed that the master was sweating.

"Master Yen Sid? Are you alright?" Mickey asked out of concern for his master.

"Mickey…" the wizard said as he donned his hat and turned to his apprentice.

"Y-yes sir?" Mickey replied.

"…Go into town and find a skilled gummy ship pilot…I need transportation to Radiant Garden immediately." The wizard commanded.

Mickey nodded hastily and took off out the door.

"_Something's not right." _Mickey thought to himself, _"…the master doesn't call for transport like this, if he wants to go somewhere he simply teleports there."_

Mickey was very concerned with his master's behavior but obeyed none the less,

As he reached the edge of the floating island the tower was perched on, he quickly snapped his fingers and in a flash of bright light, a purple, single car train appeared on the track beneath it.

From the window overlooking the floating island, Master Yen Sid watched as his apprentice boarded the train, and as it moved off towards the town.

"_What is the meaning of this dream…it was no dream…it was a prophecy…but is it a vision of things that will be…or things that might be?" _Yen Sid pondered as the sun started to rise in the distance.

* * *

It was dawn by the time the train arrived in the Twilight Town Train Station.

Mickey disembarked and then ran towards and out the door to the station. As he emerged the town was already bustling with activity, and he didn't know where to begin looking for a gummy ship pilot.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around to see a young man in his mid to late twenties with golden hair, a goatee, and wearing a dark blue jacket, a blue shirt, blue jeans, wearing a pair of goggles with a red strap around his forehead, holding a spear under one arm and a map in the other.

"Excuse me…" the man said in a southern accent "…but can you tell me where I can find a mister …Setzer Gabbiani?"

Mickey may not have known many people in Twilight Town but Setzer Gabbiani, happened to be someone Mickey did know…only not personally.

Setzer was the reigning champion of a universe wide fighting competition called Struggle…the fortunes he gained from his fighting and winning the tournaments afforded him a huge mansion just on the outskirts of Twilight Town

"Welp I do know where he lives…but I don't know him directly." Mickey explained to the obvious foreigner.

"Thanks, could you show me where he is I gotta package for him." The man replied.

"I wish I could but I'm a bit busy, you see I need to find a Gummy ship pilot right away." Mickey said as the man scratched his chin.

"Well little man I may be able to help ya there…" he said "Ya see I got a nice gummy ship that I use mostly as a courier and kind of as a…inter-worldly taxi driver. If ya help me get to Mr. Gabbiani's place…I'll give you and one additional passenger a lift, free of charge." The man said with a smile and Mickey could tell the man's heart was in the right place.

"It's a deal." Mickey said as he shook the man's hand.

"My name is Mickey Mouse." He said to the man.

"Pleasure to meet ya…the name's Cid…Cid Highwind, gummy ship pilot, mechanic, and hopefully someday…gummy ship builder." The man said as they set off for the mansion.

A few minutes later Cid had delivered his package to the Gabbiani residence, the package turning out to be a golden struggle bat, and Mickey had already alerted his master through his magical ways to be ready to depart.

Cid maneuvered a sleek silvery gummy ship around the tower where Yen Sid awaited and teleported in a flash of bright light onto the gummy ship.

"Ok Mr. Highwind set a course for Radiant Garden." Mickey said as the gummy ship pilot sat partially bug eyed at the mighty wizard's entrance, but quickly spun back around to the controls and the gummy ship tore off into space in a flash of light.

* * *

**Earlier…**

In the bustling metropolis of the city of Midgar, a brown, spiky haired man slumbered in his bed.

But a good long nap was going to be the last thing on his mind in 3…2…1

"Uncle Terra, Uncle Terra!!" a young voice said as the man felt his right eye being pulled open and see a black haired boy, with a similar hair style as his own, standing before him.

"What?" Terra asked sleepily.

"Don't you know what time it is?" the boy asked as Terra's eyes shot open and he looked at the clock by his bed.

"YIKES!!" Terra yelped as he leapt out of bed and ran to set out some clothes for himself.

"ZACK is your cousin awake yet?!" Terra asked the boy from the walk-in closet.

"Yeah he's all dressed n' everything." Zack replied as Terra brushed his teeth and quickly combed his hair.

"Good…do you have what you need for school Zack?" Terra asked with his toothbrush in his mouth.

"Yep…I'm all set." Zack replied giving a salute.

"Good go and wait in the living room…" Terra ordered as he finally finished brushing and began putting on his clothes.

Terra...a good man, no enemies, an ok job at the universe's largest company, Buy-n-large, as an office manager and a father of one but also the legal guardian of his nephew Zack.

Terra donned his black sports jacket with a red and white "Buy-n-large" company tie, and quickly walked out the door to the living room where his ten year old nephew Zack Fair and his five year old son Riku were sitting and waiting for him on the couch.

"Ok boys you guys ready?" Terra asked straightening his tie.

"Yes sir." They replied in unison and they were out the door in an instant.

Luckily the school was only two blocks away, and the Buy-N-Large corporate headquarters was only three more blocks away from the school, allowing Terra to walk to and from work every day.

Terra held the two by the hands and smirked as he saw Mr. George Banks, the newly named president of the local bank on his way in the same direction with his own children, Jean and Michael in his hands.

"Morning Mr. Banks." Terra and the boys greeted.

"Oh good morning Terra, children…lovely day for a walk don't you think?" Mr. Banks said cheerily.

"Well I've never known a day not to be good for a walk." Terra replied then smirked.

"Have any nanny's 'fly off' lately?" Terra joked about the time when Mr. Banks once hired a mysterious nanny to watch after his children while he and his wife, Winifred, was at their respective jobs, and the nanny just flew off on her umbrella without warning one day.

"Very funny Terra." George replied sarcastically.

A short while later Terra was standing outside the school.

"Now Zack be good for Mr. Sian." Terra said to Zack as he straightened the boys' collar.

"But uncle Terra the guy creeps me out, he's always eerily calm, and has some fascination with the moon." Zack complained.

"Relax he won't go berserk on you." Terra reassured as Zack then turned and ran into the school. Terra then turned to his son Riku.

"Now Riku what do you do if they serve carrots at snack time again?" Terra asked with a general idea of what his son's answer was going to be.

"Hide?" Riku answered with a cheesy grin.

"No you eat them…then quickly gulp them down with some juice once it's gone. Ok?" Terra said and Riku reluctantly nodded then quickly hugged Terra, and ran into the school as the brown haired man turned towards the "Buy-N-Large" headquarters.

Little did he realize that his life and the life of his son, nephew, and everyone in Midgar, was about to change forever.

* * *

**End Chapter 2**

Please R&R


	3. An Important Meeting

Radiant Garden; ruled by a kindly old scientist and philosopher named Ansem the Wise. It had a history for maintaining its rustic looking charm without compromising its complexity, mostly because there wasn't a single "Buy-n-Large" store in the entire world.

Truth be told, it was without one of the most advanced worlds in the universe.

Ansem the wise was hard at work in his study in the center of his castle when his most trusted body guard, a tall man with dark hair in a black business suit and carrying a tri-barreled pistol, entered.

"Sir…" the man started, "there are two people here to see you, and they say it is urgent."

"Urgent?" Ansem asked as he looked up from his notes on a research project he was performing, "Define urgent Mr. Valentine?"

The man straightened up.

"They didn't say what the matter was sir…only one of them told me to say his name was Yen Sid."

At the mention of the name Yen Sid, Ansem dropped his pen on his desk and his eyes went wide.

"Not a word of this do you hear me Vincent…not even to your young protégé, Tseng." Ansem said as Vincent gave a nod and made a motion to someone behind him to enter.

Almost immediately a tall bearded man in blue robes and a pointed blue hat with white stars and moons on it accompanied by a small mouse like creature in a black with white trimmed jacket entered the room.

Ansem stood up and nodded to the two guests, then turned back to Vincent.

"Inform Verdot, that I am not to be disturbed until otherwise informed." He ordered as Vincent nodded and closed the door to the study.

"I am humbled by your presence Master Yen Sid." Ansem said with a bow.

"I had a most terrifying experience last night Ansem…" Yen Sid said as he, Ansem, and Mickey took their seats.

"What happened?" Ansem asked curiously.

"I had…a vision." Yen Sid responded.

"A vision…a vision of what?" Ansem replied.

"The End of the Worlds as we know them." Yen Sid said with as stern a face as Ansem had ever seen.

"Really? Then…why come to me?" Ansem asked.

"Radiant Garden was one of the worlds that I saw ravaged by the coming darkness." Yen Sid replied.

"Darkness?!" Ansem asked surprised, "So the rumors are true…the rumors of a growing darkness bound to serve as the harbinger of doom."

"I am afraid you may be right…" Yen Sid replied with a look of worry, "But I am not sure if the vision meant that it would be within the near future, or many years from now…or if it was things that will…or may come to be if certain steps are not taken to prevent it."

"H-how will you know?" Ansem asked as Yen Sid turned to look at his apprentice, who then scrambled to his feet and summoned a blue Keyblade with a yellow star for the tooth, The Keyblade Star Seeker.

"A-a Keyblade?!" Ansem said with awe.

"Yes, my apprentice here can wield one." Yen Sid said as Ansem started to scratch his chin.

"As I recall your last apprentice could wield the Keyblade as well." Ansem said to the wizard.

"Yes and from what I understand, his apprentice can also." Yen Sid replied.

"I see…" Ansem said as he furrowed his brow "…then why come to me?"

Yen Sid then looked him straight in the eyes and said without blinking,

"Because the Kingdom Knights have been revealed to me."

Ansem eyes widened and his face paled as he slowly sat down in his chair.

"T-the Kingdom Knights? The guardians of Kingdom Hearts?" Ansem said breathlessly.

"Yes…three Knights, each representing one of the three basic elements of the worlds, Sky, Land, and Sea." Yen Sid said as Ansem looked as if he was lost in thought for a moment.

"Then why have you come here?" Ansem asked, "Are they here?"

The wizard shook his head.

"No, but I do know where they are." Yen Sid replied.

"Then what do you need of me?" Ansem asked eagerly.

"I was hoping to borrow one of your bodyguards…what do you call them? Turks is it?" Yen Sid replied.

"Yes, yes take whomever you want." Ansem again said eagerly.

"I only want one…Vincent Valentine." Yen Sid said stoically.

"Very well then." Ansem said as he pressed a button on his desk and a brown haired man with a long scar down his left cheek and wearing a business suit, entered and gave a slight bow to Ansem.

"Verdot, inform Vincent Valentine that I have a…special…assignment for him." Ansem ordered as the commanding Turk, stood at attention in response and left the room.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

In the quiet island town of the Destiny Islands life was going on as usual. The islands, like Radiant Garden, remained untouched by the hustle and bustle of the busy trade communities of worlds such as Midgar, and also lacked a "Buy-n-large" store.

But the people of the Destiny Isles, really never knew…or cared about the worlds around them, mainly because they didn't know they existed.

Despite the lack of any major inter-world trade, the people easily survived off of the Island Castle General store, owned and operated by a man named Ven.

The reason for this is because, the Isles hadn't been discovered yet by the corporate giant that is Buy-n-large. However only a single other-worlder knew of its existence…A lone summoner from the world of Spira, named Lulu.

Lulu had crashed her Spiran made gummy ship in the ocean just off the coast of the main island. Fortunately she had ejected just in time and landed safely in the water near where Ven, who happened to be fishing nearby on a rented boat at the time, rescued her. The two slowly developed feelings for each other and they eventually married and had a son named Sora.

However at the time things are rather run of the mill these days…

"Hope that hammer works out for ya, James." Ven said from behind his counter as one customer left the store and two more came in. Ven smiled at the two who entered.

"Howdy ma'am can I help you?" he said in a mock cowboy accent, causing the dark haired woman to snicker.

"Why yes, I came looking for a good man you think you can hep?" the woman replied playfully in a fake cowgirl accent.

"I certainly can…how do I do." He asked as the woman dropped the act.

"Sold." She replied as the two leaned in for a kiss. The two stopped at the sound of a small whine coming from the woman's side.

"Sora…" Ven said with a laugh as he leaned over the counter to see a small four year old boy with brown, spiked hair, wearing a white t-shirt, red shorts with blue trim, and brown sandals standing next to the woman with a disgusted look on his face.

"He's been begging to see you all morning Ven." The woman said as she picked the boy up and put him on the counter.

"Aww…were you missing your dad today Sora?" Ven replied as the second Sora's feet touched the counter he leapt into Ven's arms.

"Uh-huh." Sora replied.

"You nervous about pre-school tomorrow?" Ven asked his son.

"Uh-huh." Sora replied with a nod as his mother, Lulu, spoke up.

"Actually it's not what he's nervous about but who he's nervous about." Lulu said with a knowing smirk as Sora blushed slightly.

"Ahh…so the cat's out of the bag now…your nervous about seeing Kairi aren't you?" Ven said knowingly as Sora shook his head and replied like only little kids can…

"No."

"Uh-huh." Ven replied as he knew better, just as the door opened and two more customers entered.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the dynamic duo of Ven and Lulu." A woman with blue spiky hair said as the two in question shot her a mischievous look.

"And don't forget Sora." Ven replied as the woman, smiled and gave a friendly wave to the spiky haired boy, who was now trying to hide behind his father's head…not from the blue haired woman…but from the red headed girl sucking her thumb in the arms of her mother.

"Hi Sowa." The girl said with a wave, with her thumb now out of her mouth.

"Come on Sora, say hello to Aqua and Kairi." Lulu said in a vain attempt to coax her son out from behind his father's head.

"He's being a bit stubborn today." Ven said after a moment causing Aqua to smirk.

"…and if you say, like father like son, I do have a monkey wrench and I will use it." Ven playfully warned.

"I am so scared Ven." Aqua replied sarcastically before she turned to Lulu.

"Sora and Kairi still on for that play date this afternoon?" Aqua asked.

"As far as I know yeah." Lulu replied as Aqua nodded, gave Ven a salute, then turned on her heels and left the store with Kairi still in her arms.

After Aqua had left, Ven put Sora down.

"Say why don't you go look at the toys for a moment while I talk with your mother ok?" Ven said as Sora nodded and ran over to the toy aisle.

"I'm amazed she's so strong after yesterday of all days." Lulu said as Ven nodded.

"Trust me, when you've known her for as long as I have, you learn how to interpret her signals. Ven said as he started thinking, "What was it four years ago yesterday that Mune disappeared?"

"Yeah it was…I bet it was rough, having your husband of two years, and the father of your then unborn child just vanish on you like that." Lulu replied.

Little did Lulu suspect that she would soon be living out a variation of that life herself.

* * *

**End Chapter 3.**

Please R&R.


	4. Have Spear, will Travel & Robot issues

Cid Highwind stood atop his gummy ship, making some repairs to it as a woman with long blond hair in a black business suit approached from the fortified city gates to the city.

"Are you Mr. Cid Highwind?" the woman asked as the Gummy ship pilot peaked over the edge.

"Yepper." Cid replied as he quickly jumped up and slid down the side of the ship landing feet first on the blue soil.

"My superiors have requested that you be detained on the orders of Ansem the Wise." The woman said stoically.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that incident in Midgar with those B.N.L. reps would it?" Cid asked as the woman arched an eyebrow.

"No…but if being detained is of any inconvenience to you…" the woman replied as she held up a plain white envelope that appeared to be filled with something "…I have been authorized to compensate you in the amount of 50,000 munny."

Cid paused for a moment, and then said…

"Oh it's very inconvenient," as he snatched the envelope and started counting the munny inside.

"I figured as much." The woman said with a smirk as she turned on her heel and headed towards the city gates.

* * *

**A short while later in the castle…**

"Do you understand your orders Mr. Valentine?" Ansem said to the Turk as Yen Sid and Mickey observed. Vincent had just been informed about the entire conversation between Yen Sid, Ansem, and Mickey.

"Yes sir, I shall make both you and the Turks proud of me sir." Vincent said stoically and obediently.

"Good." Ansem said as the blond Turk who had paid off Cid earlier, entered the room and instantly stood at attention.

"Cid Highwind detained peacefully sir!" the woman reported.

"Excellent work Karen." Ansem said with a smile before turning back to Vincent.

"Vincent I would advise you start packing to leave immediately, there is no time to lose." Ansem said as Vince continued to stand at attention.

"Sir, permission to speak freely?" Vince asked.

"Granted." "What about my protégé Tseng? He's a natural born leader, and I believe that he would make an excellent body guard for your son Rufus sir." Vince asked as Ansem paused for a moment.

"An interesting proposition…Verdot has also given him high praise…and Karen here has also given him high marks…" Ansem said as he glanced at the blond. "…I shall consider it."

With that Vincent stood at attention and then left to pack.

* * *

**Later…**

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute…" Cid interrupted, "…you want me to do what?!"

"We would like you help us find the Kingdom Knights." Yen Sid answered as Cid's eyes bulged.

"Are you kidding me? T-that's crazy!" Cid argued.

"You will be well compensated for your troubles." Yen Sid replied.

"This ain't about the money, this is about a life and death matter here…mainly my life or death." Cid argued again. Yen Sid paused for a moment as he thought for a moment.

"You're right Captain Highwind, it is a matter of life and death…only it isn't just about you." The Wizard said as Cid arched a confused eyebrow.

"The lives of the worlds and everyone in them are on the line if you do not help us." Yen Sid added.

"You and Mickey crossed paths for a reason, and I believe that this is the reason why fate led you to us." He said as Cid realized the truth in the wizards' words.

"Well…I've always wanted to go and explore the worlds…" Cid said with a smile as he reached out a hand to the wizard who grasped it firmly and teleported the two into the gummy ship where Mickey and Vincent were waiting.

"Ok where to Mr. magic man?" Cid said as he sat down at the controls as Yen Sid closed his eyes for a moment and then said in a calm clear voice.

"Set a course…to Midgar."

* * *

**Earlier…**

Terra sat at his desk in his office at the "Buy-n-Large" headquarters, as he watched the clock eagerly.

4:30…thirty minutes to go till quitting time.

Terra looked back at the computer screen, and continued his solitaire game.

Suddenly his "holo-phone" started beeping and the caller I.D. read AUTO.

Terra groaned.

For some unholy reason he had been saddled with the responsibility of making sure that the automatic pilot for B.N.L.'s latest financial endeavor, an interstellar colony gummy ship called the Axiom, was ready to be installed into the ship's systems.

AUTO, the automatic pilot robot destined for the Axiom, had proven to be a very annoying robot to Terra…and he had met allot of robots. But out of all of BNL's robotic lines he found AUTO's model to be very unsettling. Terra didn't fully trust the robot.

Well he had done his duty but the robot for some heinous reason had grown partially attached to him and would call him at odd hours…he would even call his house.

Terra reluctantly pressed the answer button and a hologram of a black and white mechanical steering wheel that looked like it was hanging from the ceiling, with a red optic sensor in the center of the wheel, appeared.

"What do you want now AUTO?" Terra asked.

"_Greetings Terra…" _AUTO greeted in a deep, monotone, and mechanical voice, _"…I am reminding you of your requested presence at the launch of the Axiom tomorrow."_

"It's marked on my calendar AUTO." Terra replied with a sigh.

"_Excellent…I will see you there…End of line." _AUTO said as the holo-phone deactivated.

"What a strange robot." Terra replied.

He stepped out for a moment to visit the men's room, but as he did a small white, inverted, triangular robot with a red headlight on top, that had been waiting for Terra to step out rolled in to his office, and then after a moment rolled out at high speeds. What it did…only the robot knew.

Terra returned and instantly noticed that his jacket had fallen on the floor. He picked up the jacket and hung it back on the coat rack.

After a while, he couldn't explain why, but he suddenly got a gut feeling that something was wrong, and his gut feelings had been proven to always be ninety nine percent accurate.

Finally the clock read 4:59, and he decided one minute wasn't going to be any harm so he grabbed his jacket and left to pick up his kids from the daycare at their school.

Little did he know that his every move was being watched by the cold and calculated eye of a devious mechanical mastermind.

* * *

**End Chapter 4.**

Me: As you may have noticed I am using characters and plot devices from the recently premiered Disney/Pixar film, WALL-E, (e.g. Buy-N-Large, the Axiom, and AUTO) mostly as a bit of (shameless) advertising for the film.

Why?

Because I can.

Oh…and I own none of it.


	5. Unexpected Developments part 1

Terra power walked to pick up Zack and Riku, as he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched.

"What's wrong uncle Terra?" Zack asked as he struggled to keep up with his uncle as they practically ran home. But Terra didn't answer.

They finally got home. Once Terra closed the door he proceeded to lock, bolt, and nail the door shut.

Zack thought his uncle was losing his mind.

"Dad are you ok?" Riku asked as Terra finally sat down on the couch.

Terra sighed, nodded, then stood back up and headed for the kitchen.

Meanwhile on a view screen in an unknown location a mysterious being watched the brown haired BNL employees' every move.

Unknown to either of them a sleek and silvery gummy ship appeared outside the world's outer shell.

"Ya sure this guy's down there?" Cid asked as he turned to face the wizard.

"Yes and I feel that we must move quickly, I can feel the evil forces here are at work already." The Wizard said as a vision of a glowing, round, red, dot against a white backdrop flashed in his mind.

"Aright then…we're gonna have to use the gummy ship's transporters to nab this guy." Cid said as he was about to turn to a set of controls.

"No…" Yen Sid said as he caused Cid's body to cease up on him, "…we shall send them." He said as he turned to Mickey and Vincent who nodded readily.

Meanwhile Zack stomped down the hall towards the family room, and glared at Terra as he read his news paper.

"Uncle Terra!" he yelled as Terra looked around the paper and paused as he saw what looked like a carrot in Zack's hair.

"Let me guess, Riku won't eat his carrots again?" Terra asked with a sigh.

"Yeah and the brat threw them at me, yelling how much he hated them." Zack replied as Terra rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen to see a certain small five year old white haired boy grinning innocently.

"Riku...why did you throw your carrots at cousin Zack?" Terra asked the boy as he leaned on the door post with his arms crossed and the paper folded up in his hand.

"Because I don't like them." Riku said and continued to smile innocently as his father looked at him shaking his head.

"Riku…eat your carrots." He said calmly.

"But daddy!" Riku pleaded.

"No Riku, if you want to grow big and strong like me, you need to eat your carrots." Terra interrupted before the child could say anything more.

"But they're gross daddy." The child whined but Terra held firm (Me: see if you can catch the pun)

"Eat the Carrots." He ordered.

Riku pouted and held up a stray carrot slice off the plate, then looked at it like it was poison.

"If you eat it quick it won't be so bad." Terra advised, as Riku quickly ate it and instantly grabbed his Sippy cup filled with apple juice and gulped it down quickly, earning as smirk and a silent chuckle from his father.

"There was that so bad?" Terra asked his son with a smirk as he knew the answer.

"I…am going…to die." Riku said as he grabbed his throat causing his father to laugh.

"No you're not…ZACK come help your cousin clean up in here." Terra yelled as the latter entered having gotten the carrot slice out of his hair, and did as he was told.

Terra smiled as he walked back down the hall to the family room, as he did he paused to look at a photo of he and his late wife. A beautiful white haired woman named Rikka…or just Ricky as some people called her. She had died five years ago a mere four minutes after she gave birth to their son Riku.

He started to move on but then came to a photo of his older sister Aeris (Not Aerith from FF7) and her husband whom every one called "Very Fair." Terra smirked for a moment as he remembered his sister…he also remembered hearing the news of both her and Fair's death when an experimental reactor mysteriously suffered a meltdown and exploded. It was rumored to be the work of a malfunctioning robot.

But whatever the truth was, it probably wound up swept under the rug by BNL's consumer affairs department headed by a man name Heidegger.

Terra entered the living room, still unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched, sat down on the couch and started reading the newspaper again.

Suddenly a bright light appeared in the house and quickly dissipated. Terra quickly lowered his paper and saw a dark haired man in a business suit with a tri-barreled gun in his hand, accompanied by a short mouse like creature wearing, a black with white trimmed jacket holding a strange blue rod with a star on the end.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Terra bellowed as he entered a form of battle pose.

"Gosh uh didn't mean to startle ya, the name's Mickey Mouse, and this is Vincent Valentine, we need your help." The creature said. What none of them noticed was a pair of eyes that appeared from around the corner.

"My help?" Terra asked confused, "With what, I'm just a simple office manager for Buy-N-Large, what could I possibly…" but before he could finish his sentence a strange glow appeared in his right hand. It grew brighter and brighter until it finally dissipated revealing a long brown key shaped object in his hand.

"W-what is this?" Terra asked after a moment as he looked at the strange object.

"It's called a Keyblade, and it has chosen you to be its wielder." Vincent said.

"A what?" "A Keyblade, we will explain later, but we have to seek out the others first." Vincent replied.

Terra then noticed two pairs of eyes peering around the corner.

"Zack, Riku, get out here." Terra ordered as the two walked in.

"Gosh, I guess that's why the Keyblade chose him." Mickey whispered to Vincent, who grunted in agreement.

"We need to move quickly…evil forces are at work and the darkness is moving quickly." Vincent said as he moved over, gun drawn, towards the windows and closed the blinds and curtains.

"Well I'm not going anywhere without these two." Terra said as the two kids got behind him and Vincent moved back to where he was.

"Well…they can go with you for now, but they won't be able to go with you on your mission." Vince said, as Terra's face turned red.

"Mission WHAT MISSION?" he yelled as all five of them vanished in a burst of white light.

The mysterious being blinked as it panned the camera franticly trying to find the suddenly missing Terra, to no avail.

However it wasn't completely out of options and activated a locater system. Shortly after that the being switched to a sensor display and indicated a moderately sized gummy ship registered to one Cid Highwind.

The being was surprised at this unexpected development and activated a listening device attached to a hidden and near undetectable homing beacon. It also ordered the device to record.

Terra, Riku, Zack, Vincent, and Mickey suddenly appeared inside of the gummy ship in a flash of light.

"What the?!" Terra exclaimed as he examined his surroundings.

"My apologies Terra…I didn't mean to startle you." Yen Sid said calmly.

"Where the HE…" Terra was about to yell when he suddenly realized something, "…wait how do you know my name?" he asked as Riku and Zack stared in awe at what the gummy ship around them.

"Allow me to introduce myself…I am Master Yen Sid." The wizard said as Terra's eyes widened.

"Y-you are the mighty wizard Yen Sid?!" Terra asked nervously as the wizard nodded.

"W-what do you want with me?" Terra asked as the wizard walked towards Cid.

"All will be explained in time, but first we must find the others…" Yen Sid said as he then turned to Cid and handed him a piece of paper which the pilot read and nodded in acknowledgement. Cid then proceeded to begin fiddling with the controls.

The mysterious being suddenly detected the vessel powering it's engines, and quickly turned to another display screen, and began searching BNL's network for something, then paused as it came across a news article about a group of space pirates lead by the infamous cyborg captain John Silver.

It then turned back to the audio recorder.

Back on the gummy ship Cid opened a panel on the controls and turned a dial inside to a setting listed as _"To Infinity and Beyond."_

"Strap yourselves in…this is going to be bumpy!!" Cid yelled as everyone quickly found a seat and buckled themselves in as the ship suddenly lurched and vanished into the distance in a bolt of light.

The being was surprised again as the screen for the tracking device showed a message.

"_Target – Out of range."_

It then deactivated both it and the listening device, which was now just receiving static, and turned to the screen showing the news report about the space pirates.

The being then turned back to the central screen and brought up a holo-phone transmitter screen and a smaller screen with a message that read _"Visual and Audio Distortion enabled,"_ as the being started transmitting on an unknown frequency towards an unknown location in the Crab Nebula.

* * *

**End Chapter 5.**

Me: To quote the famous detective Sherlock Holmes – _"The game's afoot!"_

To those who have read my fic Reunion…particularly chapter 24 "Hard Decisions,"… Doesn't this chapter look rather familiar?

Also if you think you've figured out who the mysterious being is, please refrain from mentioning it in your review.


	6. Unexpected Developments part 2

**KLEENEX ALERT KLEENEX ALERT!!: **This chapter has been rated D for Depressing by the STT:Chapter Ratings company of Walla Walla Washington...

Ok maybe not but I would still have a box or two of Kleenex around.

* * *

On the Destiny Islands Lulu knocked gingerly on the white door of a nice small island cottage with Sora, holding her hand as he squirmed wanting to get away.

"But mommy, I don't want to play with Kairi." "Why not sweetie?" Lulu asked.

"Because she's a girl." He replied as his mother laughed.

"Oh Sora." she said as the door opened and Aqua appeared with Kairi sucking her thumb in her mother's arms.

"Oh hi Lulu…" Aqua said as she looked down to see a single spike of brown hair.

"…and hello to you too Sora." She said with a smile.

"H-hi miss Aqua." Sora said as he peeked around his mother's leg and Kairi looked down at him, took her thumb out of her mouth and smiled at the boy.

"Hi Sowa!" the girl said as Sora quickly ducked behind his mother again. Kairi then looked past Lulu and saw Ven walking down the street.

"Hi Mr. Ven!!" the girl waved.

"Oh hello Kairi…Aqua…dear…Sora why are you hiding behind your mother's leg?" Ven asked as he walked through the white wooden fence gate surrounding Aqua's home.

"Hey Ven, how's life?" Aqua asked as Ven walked up. He guessed that she had forgotten about her earlier visit.

"Just great, the shop has been going well...especially with the Paopu fruit in season…You?" Ven asked.

"Oh…staying busy." "Best way to stay out of trouble huh?" Ven joked as Aqua smirked.

"Ven?!" Lulu said as Aqua put Kairi down, who promptly started chasing Sora around the yard.

"What? We've known each other since high school." Ven replied with a grin.

"You two want to come in or just stand on the porch all night?" Aqua asked.

"No thanks…someone has to watch these two…and make sure Sora doesn't get stuck if he hides in the tree again." Ven said as he watched Kairi swat at a brown spike of hair hiding behind a bush.

If you asked anyone on the island they would say that Ven had everything, a job, a wife, a son, and his best friend from high school that lived right down the street from him.

On top of that he was a respected member of the community and knew almost everyone on the island, thanks in no small part to his store.

Ask anyone about Aqua's life and the answer would similar but just without the husband, who had mysteriously vanished without a trace in the night exactly nine months to the day before Kairi was born and never came back. She worked at the diner down the street from Ven's shop too.

Her late father was the town banker and gave her the house, along with his small yet sizeable fortune, when he died.

Suddenly Lulu put her hand to her head in a moan.

"What's the matter Lu?" Ven asked as he took his wife's free hand.

"I-I don't know…" Lulu responded as she leaned back against the wall of the house, "I just feel this…powerful presence nearby."

Lulu, being a former summoner from Spira, had developed a natural connection to magic and as such could feel various things but who's presence it was that she felt was a mystery to her. (A/N: THIS ISN'T STAR WARS, SO IT'S NOT THE FORCE!!)

"Ven what have you been feeding this woman." Aqua asked earning a nasty look from Ven as if saying "Now is not the time for jokes."

Throughout all this, Sora and Kairi had stopped what they were doing, mainly consisting of Sora running away and hiding from Kairi, and watched what was happening out of concern.

But before anyone could do or say anything else a mysterious light appeared around all five of them and they all vanished instantly.

* * *

**On board the gummy ship…**

Terra had confined Zack and Riku to a corner of the gummy ship's main room, as he turned towards Cid.

"I recognize you Cid Highwind." Terra said as the Gummy Ship builder turned towards him with a lit cigar in his mouth.

"Ya do?" he asked.

"Yes…you have a bit of a questionable history with BNL." Terra said as Cid looked around innocently.

"All a formality." Cid said as he leaned against a console and apparently bumped a button as a beeping noise started going off almost immediately.

"Oops…" Cid muttered as a message appeared on the console screen.

"_Emergency exfiltration system engaged."_

"Nice going Cid!!" Terra yelled as he turned around to see five spots of light appear on the floor behind Cid's console and three adults and two toddlers appeared where the spots of light were.

Cid was dumbfounded but quickly regained his composure.

"Welcome aboard ya'll," He said as the adults looked around confused.

"What the…where are we…who are you?" A spiky haired blond man asked as he and a woman with blue spiky hair glared at Cid.

"Yeah what's with you people abducting us like this?" Terra asked.

"Who are you?" The woman asked as she entered a battle pose and in a sudden flash of light a long blue sword like key appeared in her hand. Her eyes widened as she gaped at the mysterious object in her hand.

"Aqua…where did you get that?" The blond man asked as he held out his hand and in another flash of light another yet different colored sword like key appeared in his hand.

"You too huh?" Terra said as a raven haired woman, who Terra vaguely recognized, quickly started looking around, and spotted two children, a boy with brown spiky hair and a red headed girl standing near Riku and a pouting Zack.

"Where are we?" the woman identified as Aqua asked.

"Yer on board a Gummy ship…nice ain't it? The name's Cid Highwind." Cid said as turned around in his seat and deactivated the emergency exfiltration system, as Mickey ran into the room.

"Oh golly, sorry about that, it seems that Cid beamed you up instead of beaming us down." Mickey said as he ran towards the group.

"Who…or what are you?" The blond man asked, as Vincent and Yen Sid entered.

"His name is Mickey Mouse, and he is my apprentice…this is Vincent Valentine, you have already met young Captain Highwind and Terra." Yen Sid said as he approached.

The raven haired woman appeared to act like she could sense his power emanating from him.

"My name is Yen Sid, and I am in need of your help." Yen Sid said as the woman's eyes widened.

"Our help…I'm just a shop owner…" the blond replied.

"…and I'm a waitress," Aqua added

"…and I'm an office manager…what help could we possibly provide?" Terra finished.

"More than you know." Yen Sid said as the raven haired woman dropped to one knee in a bow.

"Master Yen Sid…it is an honor to make your acquaintance." The woman said.

"Ah…Lulu…the lost summoner of Spira…It is good to know that you still live." Yen Sid replied as Terra then remembered how she was so familiar, her face and name had appeared on "have you seen this person" billboards all across Midgar five years ago.

"Lu you know this wacko?" the blond asked as Lulu flinched at the blond's referring to the wizard as a wacko and quickly clamped his mouth shut with her hands.

"Please ignore my husband Ven…he knows not what he says." Lulu said apologetically.

"It is quite all right Lulu; I wouldn't expect him to know." The wizard replied with a caring smile.

"Okay…since you know their names…" the blue haired woman said as she was about to introduce herself but Yen Sid beat her to it.

"You are Aqua…the sole provider for your daughter Kairi here, and the boy with the brown spiky hair is Sora…Ven and Lulu's son." Yen Sid said earning surprised expressions from everyone but Mickey, Terra, Vincent, and the inattentive Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

"Incredible…" Aqua replied as Yen Sid went on to introduce Zack and Riku.

Zack in the meantime was trying to pay attention to the grown up's conversation as Mickey had turned to trying to entertain the younger children with magic tricks to some degree of success.

"So what exactly do you need us for?" Lulu asked.

"I'm afraid I was not specific when I said I needed your help…I meant that I needed the help of you three." Yen Sid replied as he pointed to Ven, Terra, and Aqua.

"With what?" Ven asked.

"I need you to help solve a few mysteries, the first is what happened to my last apprentice before Mickey." Yen Sid explained.

"His name is Xehanort, and he has gone missing…" He explained, "…all of my power cannot seem to find neither him nor his apprentice."

"Then there is the mystery of the growing darkness…" he said with a serious expression, "…I have had a vision of a powerful darkness sweeping the worlds and consuming them in darkness…however I am not sure of the vision's meaning."

"How so?" Aqua asked.

"I'm not sure if it is something that is to be, or might be." The wizard replied, "But I could sense the dark forces at work in the world where we retrieved Terra here."

"Intriguing…" Terra said as he scratched his chin, "…then how did you find us?"

"The vision I had showed me who you are and where to find you." Yen Sid answered.

"Ok so what are these strange key things?" Terra asked.

"You mean the Keyblades…" Yen Sid said as the three held out their hands and the Keyblades appeared in their hands.

"Have any of you heard of the legend of the Keyblades?" the wizard asked as Terra nodded.

"Yes, I have…it says that the Keyblades are mysterious weapons that can open any lock, as well as defeat any foe…it's also supposed to be sentient…utterly deceptive twattle speak I say." Terra said as Lulu glared at him.

"This from the man who holds a Keyblade in his grimy hands." Lulu said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Let me guess…you work for BNL don't you?" she taunted as Terra began fuming.

"ENOUGH!!" Yen Sid bellowed causing everyone to stop whatever it was they were doing.

"The Keyblades are sentient but they choose their wielder by finding the person with the right heart to use them…" The wizard said back in his calm demeanor.

"..and there is more to the legend than that…such as how it connects to another well known legend."

"The Legend of Kingdom Hearts." Lulu said as she was on the edge of her seat, earning surprised looks from Ven and Aqua, and a nod from the mighty wizard before them.

"Indeed…care to share with us the legend, summoner?" Yen Sid asked.

"Well there's not much to be said about Kingdom Hearts except that it is supposedly guarded by three ultra powerful knights called the Kingdom Knights...who also wielded Keyblades" Lulu suddenly realized as Ven finally lost his cool.

"How do you know all this Lu-, NO, why didn't you tell me about any of this?!" Ven asked, annoyed.

"Like master Yen Sid said, they are legends…or at least were…so I didn't think they were important." Lulu answered as Ven recanted his questions understandingly.

"So we're supposed to be some ultra powerful knights, destined to guard some weird thing that no-one knows what it is?" Terra asked as the Wizard nodded, "Unbelievable!"

"So…why don't I feel powerful?" Aqua asked.

"Because your powers lie dormant within each of you and must be awakened…" Yen Sid answered, "…and they can only be awakened through continued use of the Keyblades…and once you have proven yourselves strong enough…Kingdom Hearts will grant you unimaginable power."

"Then what's BNL?" Aqua asked.

"The 'Buy-n-Large' corporation…" Terra answered proudly, "…the largest company in the universe, specializing in practically anything you can think of."

"Says the trained monkey." Lulu quipped, earning an annoyed look from the wizard and a silently amused look from Aqua.

"What do you have against me Spiran?" Terra asked.

"Oh nothing, except that we Spirans prefer items built or grown by our own two hands…not churned out from a factory." Lulu said as Terra smirked.

"You really haven't seen Spira lately have you?" Terra said as Lulu arched an eyebrow, "We've opened four BNL superstores there in the past year alone."

"So much for our die hard Spiran values." Lulu said with fake enthusiasm.

"Anyway…" Ven said as he interrupted the two fighting outer-worlders "So you need us to find your apprentice?"

"The guy catches on quick." Cid whispered to Vincent.

"Then solve the mystery of the growing darkness." Aqua added.

"Apparently so does the girl." Vincent whispered back to the gummy ship pilot.

"Yes, the Keyblades have chosen you not only for your hearts, but because they believe you to be the most qualified." Yen Sid explained.

"Most qualified? What is this, a job offer?" Terra asked.

"If you choose to view it that way." Yen Sid replied.

"Ok say we choose to accept this mission, what about them?" Aqua said as she pointed towards the kids who were being entertained by Mickey, who was once again performing magic tricks.

Yen Sid sighed he knew that it wouldn't be easy.

"I'm afraid…for their own safety sake…they mustn't come with you…including your wife Ven." Yen Sid explained as their hearts sunk, the thoughts of being away with their loved ones for a while, was too much.

"What about Zack and Riku? They have nowhere to go." Terra asked.

"And what if the darkness learns about them somehow? Will they be safe" Aqua added.

"Yeah if they go around and say that their parents, or uncle are on some great quest to save the universe and the wrong people hear it, they could try and hurt them just to get to us!" Terra said as Ven started to think.

"That is true, so there is only one solution on how to prevent it." The wizard said as Ven realized the answer.

"Erase their memories."

"**WHAT?!"** Lulu, Aqua, and Terra yelled in unison as Yen Sid lowered his head and nodded while Ven explained.

"It's the only way to keep the darkness from using them as bait or leverage…" Ven said as they realized he was right, "…and frankly I would rather have my son not knowing that I exist than have him dead."

"Hey I'm not having my memory erased uncle Terra…" Zack interrupted as he jumped up and ran over to his uncle with his hands on his hips, "…I won't tell and I can take care of myself!" he said as Yen Sid nodded.

"Pull a tree from the ground by the roots, and it will die, but cut a tree down at the trunk and it will grow back from its roots…Zack must be the roots for Riku's memories." Yen Sid said.

"So they need something to remind them of us." Ven said as he looked at a necklace shaped like a crown that he wore around his neck.

He took the necklace off and held it in his hand for a moment as Aqua fished in her pocket and revealed a star shaped, flower like charm.

"I got my husband this the day we got married…" Aqua said as her eyes welled up with tears, "…he said it reminded him of me." She said as she fingered it gently.

"This shall be Kairi's roots." Aqua said as she looked over at her daughter, with a tear running down her face.

"…and this shall be Sora's." Ven said as he took off his crown necklace and looked over at his son.

Yen Sid sighed with a heavy heart; he hated this part of being a wizard.

He then turned to Cid and nodded.

Without a word Cid nodded back and beamed everyone but himself down to the world below.

* * *

**On the surface below…**

"Will you ever come back?" Lulu asked Ven.

"I wish…I wish I knew." Ven replied, and then turned to the Wizard.

"She won't forget too will she?" Ven asked as Yen Sid shook his head.

"No…she must be the largest of all roots, in case the others don't succeed." He replied.

"I'll never forget you Ven." Lulu said as a tear ran down both of their cheeks and kissed each other for a moment.

"I promise that I will never forget you, and definitely not Sora." He replied as they parted.

"I'll watch after this…" she said as she took the crown necklace from his hands, "…and I'll give it to him when he's old enough."

"Be brave…" she said finally. "You too…" Ven said as he knelt down to Sora.

"Now…" he said fighting off a tear but with his true feelings echoing in his voice, "You be a good boy now…you're the man of the house…so can I trust you with being good for your mom?" Ven asked the boy.

"You bet daddy." Sora said with a smile.

"At a boy." Ven replied with a sniff as he hugged his son for what seemed like eternity before he finally let go and Sora walked over to the lawn of his house and magically curled up and fell asleep.

"Now I want you to be a good girl…and don't be mean to your new mommy and daddy ok?" Aqua said.

Kairi nodded quietly as they approached a house next to Sora's then stopped when they reached the stoop.

Aqua knelt down to Kairi and handed her the charm.

"Don't lose this…it is your only link to me…and me to you…and always remember that no matter where either of us is, I will always be watching over you…and I will never stop loving you." Aqua said as she paused for a moment to keep herself from crying.

Kairi nodded as she took the charm and Aqua pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. She then stood up and walked slowly back to the group as Kairi also rolled into a little ball and fell asleep.

"Now be a big guy, and don't go around and get yourself killed, ok?" Terra teased the brown haired boy who was fighting the urge to cry, until he eventually failed.

"I don't want to lose you too uncle Terra." Zack said as he wrapped his arms around his uncle's waist.

"I can't promise that you won't…but until your old enough you need to stay here and make sure Riku goes to a good family." Terra reassured as the boy stepped back and nodded.

"Now Riku, I hope that…no…I know that we will eventually see each other again…one way or another we will see each other again." Terra said as Riku nodded with a sad face, and looked at the tall building that read "Destiny Island Adoption Agency."

"I don't want you to go…" Riku said as he hugged his dad who, despite swearing he wouldn't cry, cried with a smile as he knew his son would be safe.

"But I have no choice…and who knows, maybe one day you will grow up and have a bunch of amazing adventures." Terra said as they eventually released one another, and Riku joined Sora and Kairi in magic induced slumber.

"What about the town?" Ven asked. "They will surely notice that we're gone."

"The spell I will cast will cause only Lulu and Zack to remember you three, and all mention of you will vanish or be replaced…except for the 'roots' you left." Yen Sid assured.

Mickey looked up and saw Vincent was crying.

"You too pal?" Mickey asked, as he too was fighting back a tear.

"Yeah…me too." The Turk replied as they all gathered together.

"I promise you that I will return one day Lulu…even if it takes eternity." Ven said as Lulu stood with a tear running down her face with Zack standing next to her with the same expression.

Yen Sid sadly nodded to Mickey who sighed and then twirled his hand making everyone vanish in a flash of light, leaving only Yin Sid who waved his hands and his hat glowed a bright blue as a large burst of magic covered the island and caused him to vanish instantly.

Lulu and Zack both looked up at the stars as they could see the gummy ship twinkling like a star in the moonlight and then vanish in a white streak across the sky.

"Zack…" Lulu said as the black haired boy looked up at her.

"Yes ma'am?" he responded

"Make a wish upon a star…you see…"

"_When you wish upon a star…  
makes no difference who you are…  
Anything your heart desires will come to you…"_Zack looked up at her with a teary smile…he remembered this song from when his mother used to sing it to him as a baby.

"If your heart is in your dreams…  
no request is too extreme…  
When you wish upon a star…  
as dreamers do…"

"_Fate is kind…" _He sang_  
"She brings to those to love…  
the sweet fulfillment of…  
their secret longing…"_Lulu smiled at him and they both joined in the final verse.

"_Like a bolt out of the blue…  
fate steps in and sees you through…  
When you wish upon a star…  
your dreams come true."_

* * *

**End Chapter 6.**Me: (Sniffles then writes "R&R" on the screen.)


	7. Midgar

On board the gummy ship, the only noises heard were Cid at the controls, the hum of the gummy ships' machinery, and the repeated noises of Vincent loading and reloading his gun repeatedly…the latter of which was slowly getting on Aqua's already delicate nerves.

Click, click, click, SNAP…Tick, cling, tap, tap, tap.

"Will you load that thing and stick it in a holster already?!" Aqua said as she glared at the Turk.

"Sorry." He replied as he quickly loaded and holstered it.

"Nice looking piece by the way." Terra said absently.

"It's called Cerberus…after the three headed dog of the underworld." Vincent replied.

"I don't care what you call it…" Cid said over his shoulder, "…Just don't let it go off in here."

"So…" Ven said after a long silent pause.

"So?" Aqua asked.

"So…" Terra said as he looked over at the meditating wizard.

"Hey I know!" Mickey said as he bounded into the center of the room, "…Why don't we do something to try and lift our spirits?"

"Like turn around and pretend none of this is happening?" Ven asked sarcastically, causing Mickey to lower his head slightly.

"Gosh…the last thing I want to do is make you forget about those you left behind, but we got to do what we can, for their sake." Mickey replied.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right." Terra said as he looked up at the other two and Cid turned around to face them.

"Hey I may not have any family, but I know if I did…I would do anything even risk my own life to insure their safety." Cid said as he put out his cigar.

"Now he's right…" Ven said.

"What about you Mr. Tall, dark, and scary…any family?" Aqua asked.

"No…but I do know one thing…we have no supplies." Vincent said as Cid whirled back around.

"What! I thought I loaded up while we were still in Radiant Garden?!" he yelled.

"Well they're gone now." Vince replied as Cid got up and stormed off to the storage compartment, then returned a few seconds later in a bit of a huff.

"Well we need to get some supplies looks like." Cid said as he turned to his navigational computer.

"Any ideas on where to go?" he asked as Terra slowly raised his hand.

"We could go to Midgar." Terra said as the others looked at him without surprise.

"Besides I kind of have to attend a special occasion." Terra added.

"What sort of occasion?" Ven asked.

"The launching of BNL's premier inter-stellar, self-sufficient, and fully automated colony gummy ship…the Axiom." Terra said with pride.

"Now this I gotta see." Cid said as he looked at Terra with a smirk as Yen Sid exited his meditation.

"I'm afraid that I must leave you on your own." The wizard said.

"What? Why?" Aqua asked.

"I am going to Radiant Garden…I may be able to do more from there." He replied as he turned to Mickey.

"You stay here with them Mickey, and don't be afraid of to use your Keyblade when you need it." Yen Sid said as Mickey nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes sir!" the mouse replied.

"Wait a second…HE has a Keyblade?!" Aqua asked as Mickey turned and summoned the Star Seeker Keyblade.

"It's called Star Seeker…Master Yen Sid loans to all of his apprentices until we find one of our own." Mickey replied as the Keyblade vanished.

"I wish you all well on your journey…" Yen Sid said and raised his hands, "…and while you are at Midgar, you may want to consider purchasing some more travel appropriate clothing."

With that the wizard vanished in a flash of blue light.

"So…Midgar?" Cid asked as everyone nodded and the gummy ship soon streaked off faster than light.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

In the dark chambers, the hooded figure entered the chamber as Maleficent turned to him.

"We have a problem…" the figure said.

"What kind of problem?" she replied.

"A man that our spy was supposed to be watching has vanished…abducted by an unknown gummy ship and its crew." The man said as he held up a copy of the sensor logs that the mysterious being from before had apparently given him.

"What shall be done about it?" Maleficent asked curiously.

"Our spy is already working on that, but we must consider accelerating our plans." The man replied.

"The master is already afraid that the guardians of Kingdom Hearts may have been found already by our enemy and as such, may be preparing to strike against us." He added.

"Is your spy reliable?" Maleficent asked curiously.

"As with every Buy-n-large product he has a warranty…the fool doesn't even realize that he is very close to one of our largest targets…the Axiom." The man replied as Maleficent laughed…then started cackling.

* * *

**In Midgar orbit…**

The Axiom…BNL's most expensive project to date, hovered ready and waiting for the ceremony on the world's surface to begin, leaving the ship practically deserted.

But things were not quiet…

In an unknown location on board the Axiom, a beeping console rousted the mysterious being from its slumber. It moved over to the console as a message displayed on the central screen…

"_Target – In range…tracking and listening systems online."_

Meanwhile Cid's gummy ship had dropped out of hyper speed and started heading for the surface.

"There she is…the Axiom." Terra said proudly as the others stared out the view port in awe at the massive gummy ship.

"It's amazing Terra." Aqua replied.

"Can we go on board?" Ven asked.

"Not yet…" Terra said as he checked his watch, "…we still have a while before she's set to launch…then we can dock with her."

"Well either way we need to land and take on supplies." Vincent said as Cid brought the gummy ship towards the surface.

The being watched as the gummy ship flew towards the world's protective shell.

Back on the gummy ship, a strange beeping noise was heard as everyone started looking around for it.

Terra signaled to wait a moment as he fished in his pocket and pulled out a small mobile holo-phone and answered.

"Hello?" he greeted as the slightly distorted image emanating from the device clarified to show…

"AUTO?! What in the worlds do you want now?" Terra asked the robotic steering wheel.

"_Greetings Terra, I am pleased to see you still functioning." _The robot replied, _"This is my seventh attempt at reaching you today…and I am again reminding you of your…" _

"…Requested presence at the launch ceremony onboard the Axiom, I know AUTO!" Terra replied, then a light bulb went off in his head.

"Say…how many guests am I allowed?" Terra asked.

"_Yourself plus four guests per invitation." _AUTO replied as Terra nodded.

"Thank you AUTO, see you there." Terra said as the steering wheel gave a nod.

"_End of Line." _The robot replied as the hologram vanished.

"Ladies and Gentleman!!" Cid said as everyone turned towards the forward view port, revealing a massive round city with a single tower in the dead center, and divided into eight sections. Each section was separated by a large wall running from the tower to a large structure built into the wall.

"I give you the city of Midgar!!"

After a moment Terra walked over to Cid.

"Set us down in sector seven, that's where my house is."

Cid complied as he headed towards the sector seven landing terminal.

A few minutes later our heroes were walking through the crowded city towards a residential district. Cid however was busy…"acquiring" the needed supplies.

They continued on until a red haired woman in a blue and white flowery dress carrying a basket of flowers bumped into Terra.

"Oh excuse me…Terra?" the woman said with a smile.

"Hey Aerith, I haven't seen you in a while." Terra replied with a smile.

"I haven't seen you much either." Aerith replied.

"I've been…" Terra said as he looked back at his companions, "…busy."

"Busy huh…I can understand that…" Aerith replied still with the smile on her face.

"Yeah…" Terra said as he started to get lost in her eyes…until Aqua cleared her throat.

"Oh I uh better be going, I gotta go to the Axiom's launch celebration." Terra said with a smile, as Aerith arched an eyebrow.

"I thought I was going with you as your date?" Aerith replied as the rest of the party either groaned or face-palmed…both in Ven's case.

"W-well, I w-was…uh." Terra was choking on an excuse until Ven quickly had an idea.

"Oh hey is this that Aerith woman you were talking about?" Ven asked as he and Aqua walked up next to the troubled man, who just gaped at them like a deer in the headlights.

"Oh come on Ven she must be…I mean she's gorgeous." Aqua complemented as she caught on to Ven's old "last minute rescue" routine that they had done since their freshman year in high school.

"What are you doing?" Terra mouthed.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce ourselves, I'm Ven and this is my…uh…" "Sister?" "Sister, Aqua." Ven replied as Aerith arched an eyebrow and Terra felt like he was losing his mind.

"We're co-workers of Terra's." Aqua added as Terra, finally, caught on.

"Uh yeah hi guys…" Terra covered as Aerith crossed her arms with a knowing smirk, which Ven and Aqua both recognized as meaning that she wasn't buying it.

"Ok Terra, now I know something's going on." She said as Terra pinched the bridge of his nose. Vincent then approached.

"I think we need to get a move on." Vince said as he opened his jacket enough so that Aerith could see Cerberus in its holster, but Terra instinctively grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall.

"Now look buddy…I don't care how secret this mission is you do not threaten my friends!" Terra said as Aerith blinked.

"Mission?" she asked, as Terra released the Turk and moved over to her.

"I'll explain later but we need to go…" "Go where?" she asked, "To my place to get the invitation for the Axiom party." Terra replied as he grabbed her arm and they all started off again.

Meanwhile the mysterious being was perplexed at what had just transpired. Considering that it only had audio to go on.

It instinctively saved the audio file and continued monitoring Terra's movements.

A few minutes later they reached Terra's house.

"This should only take a moment guys." Terra said as he reached in his pocket…then paused and started feeling around for something.

"What's wrong?" Ven asked as Terra face-palmed then glared at Mickey and Vincent.

"You two were in such an all fire hurry to get me out of here that you didn't give me a chance to grab my KEYS!!" Terra yelled as Mickey just shrugged, summoned his Keyblade, and then aimed it at the lock on the door.

A blue circle appeared around the end and a beam shot out from the end of the Keyblade and hit the lock. As soon as the beam disappeared the door slowly swung open, causing everyone but Vincent to get a shocked look on their faces.

They all recovered and walked into the house as Terra walked over and grabbed a card with the BNL logo on it off the table.

"Nice digs." Aqua said as she looked around.

"Hey…who's the girl standing next to you?" Ven asked as he pointed to a photo of Terra and Rikka.

Terra walked over and sighed as he saw it.

"That's Rikka…my wife." Terra replied as Aqua looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

"You're married?" Aqua asked.

"Widowed." He answered casually.

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that." Aqua said as it reminded her of her own situation.

"It's ok…I still have…had…Riku to remind me of her." Terra replied as he looked at a photo of him, Riku, and Zack.

"Hey can I pack a few things?" Terra asked as the rest of the team shrugged.

"Why are you asking us?" Vincent asked as Terra grabbed a few photo's off the wall and made for his room.

"Wow…I had no idea the guy was a widow…I thought they just snatched him and his kids up and forgot his wife by accident." Ven said after a while.

"You guys haven't known him for as long as I have." Aerith said as she approached as Aqua gave a laugh.

"We haven't known him for more than six hours." She said as Aerith arched an eyebrow.

"Long story." Ven replied.

A few minutes later Terra emerged with a pair of duffle bags over his shoulder.

"Perhaps we should head back to the ship real quick." He said as he grabbed the invitation and headed for the door.

* * *

**Later…**

"Hey you guys are just in time!" Cid remarked as he waltzed down the boarding ramp, "We're all loaded up and ready to…go." He said as he caught sight of Aerith.

"Who's the girl?" Cid asked as they boarded.

"This is Aerith, she's a friend of mine." Terra said as they boarded.

"So what's the plan?" Vincent asked a moment after the hatched closed.

"Well, I happen to know that the Axiom has plenty of shopping centers inside and we could get some, as the wizard said, 'travel appropriate' clothes." Terra said as the rest of the group listened.

"What do ya think I'm wearing? Gravy?" Cid asked as everyone shook their heads trying to get the vision out of their minds.

"No Cid we need you to stay here and keep the ship ready in case we need to make a quick getaway." Ven replied.

"What are you guys? Space pirates?" Aerith asked.

"I give you my word that I will explain in a moment…but I promise you it isn't evil or sinister." Terra begged, and Aerith sighed in resignation.

"So…who goes?" Vincent asked.

"Well besides myself and Aerith…I was thinking You, Ven, and Aqua…no offence Mickey." Terra said as Mickey just smiled and nodded understandingly.

"Its ok pal…I don't think they would like having a mouse there anyway." He said with a laugh.

"So…shall we be going?" Aqua asked and Terra tossed one of the duffle bags to her.

"Here…these are some of my late wife's best clothing…you're about her size and this is a semi-formal occasion." Terra said as Aqua nodded and headed to her room.

"What about me?" Ven asked.

"You look fine." Terra replied as Vincent shrugged and made sure his gun was loaded.

"Oh and Vincent…" Terra said as he turned to the Turk in question, "…there are weapons sensors around all the doors…and I mean all the doors."

"This gun is…special." Vincent said as Terra glared at him.

"No…Guns." Terra ordered.

"Then what do I do if we get into trouble?" Vince asked as Terra tossed him a small black rectangular box shaped object with two prongs on the fatter end.

"A BNL 6100 personal tazer…never leave home without it." Terra said as Vincent huffed and headed for his room.

Meanwhile the mysterious being was getting more confused by the minute…it did have an opportunity to get a visual of the unknown people who were traveling with Terra thanks to the spy cameras secretly installed in his house.

The being made sure that the people's faces were on the video and quickly compiled the data into a file and set it aside for a future transfer to a hard disk.

* * *

**End Chapter 7.**

Next up…the Axiom.


	8. The Axiom

"Hurry it up Aqua…you've been in there for almost thirty minutes!" Ven yelled to the blue haired woman in her room.

"How long have you known me Ven?" Aqua replied.

"Too long…way. too. long." He replied as the door finally opened to reveal Aqua in a white dress shirt with a long, black, and silky skirt.

"How do I look?" she asked as she did a little spin.

"Like a waitress." He replied as she shot him a glare that he translated as "Shut up."

Terra was in his BNL business suit and was standing by the closed boarding ramp as Aerith approached.

"Are you ok?" she asked. Terra turned and noticed she was still in her flower dress only with a flower in her hair.

"Yeah…just thinking about Riku and Zack." He replied with a sigh.

"Where are they?" she asked, "Are they ok?"

"Well…" Terra said as he explained to her and even showed her the Keyblade, then about their mission to stop the darkness and find Yen Sid's apprentice. Then he explained where his family was.

"I…" Aerith said as she searched for the words to describe her feelings but failed.

"It hit me like a sack full of bricks, and I still hope I can live through it." He said as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"I think it's very courageous, what you're doing." She said with a smile as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Well we're all set." Ven said as he Aqua and Vincent approached, snapping the two out of it.

"Alright then let's go." Terra said as he flipped a switch on a nearby control panel causing the ramp to lower and the five of them disembarked.

However Terra was completely unaware that his entire conversation with Aerith had been completely recorded and transmitted to the mysterious being who then saved the audio file and compiled it with the rest of the data to a hard disk.

The being then, feeling satisfied with what info it had acquired, deactivated the device that it had planted to track Terra's movements and listen to his conversations.

* * *

A few minutes later our heroes were on a short range gummy ship bound for the Axiom's boarding terminal.

As the five disembarked a young man in his late teens with spiky blond hair, faintly glowing green eyes, and dressed in a bright blue uniform approached them.

"Invitation please?" the man asked as Terra reached into his jacket and handed him the invitation.

"They got you pulling valet duty up here Cloud?" Terra asked as the man.

"Yes Sir Mr. Terra, how's Zack?" Cloud responded.

"He's good…he wishes he was here…I wish he was here." Terra replied somberly.

"Ok then, are these people with you?" Cloud asked referring to Aerith, Ven, Aqua, and Vincent as Terra nodded.

"Ok then enjoy the Axiom." Cloud said with a slight smile.

"Friend of Zack's?" Aqua asked as soon as they were out of ear shot.

"Cloud Strife, good kid, member of BNL's military department called SOLDIER, hence the uniform…he's a 3rd class by the way." Terra replied.

They entered the Axiom's main entertainment zone to the BNL commercial music as a holo-bot rolled up to them and instantly activated showing a man (who looks strangely like Fred Willard) in a BNL business suit with the BNL logo behind him.

"_Welcome friends and employees to the first in the line of BNL colony gummy ships, the 1071 Axiom. She comes fully automated right down to the bathrooms." _The man laughed, _"While you're here be sure to check out some of the latest in our robotics line such as the PR-T _(Pretty)_ stylist robot, or the VAQ-M _(Vacuum) _cleaner robot, or our brand new WALL-E garbage disposal robot…and remember if it doesn't have the BNL logo on it, chances are you just got __conned__!"_ He laughed as Terra rolled his eyes and the others watched attentively.

"…_so bye-bye and buy from Buy-N-Large!"_ He said as he faded into the BNL logo and the holo-bot deactivated after a moment and rolled away from the three.

"Ok…that was weird." Ven said after a moment.

"That…was Shelby Forthright, our CEO." Terra replied.

"Why don't we split up, Terra, Ven, and Vincent go one way and Aerith and I will go another…that way we can get our shopping done a lot faster." Aqua suggested as the guys shrugged and they headed off in their own direction.

As they walked off a little white, box headed robot with small yellow square shaped eyes and his arms connected to each other by a long rectangular bar rolled over the area where they stood and paused for a moment as his internal scanner detected a "foreign contaminant."

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoaaah."_

The robot said as it shook its head and a flashing red light popped out of its head and the robot started cleaning the ground behind the men with the rectangular device between its arms.

A while later the three men in question were walking through the glowing street like walk way of the entertainment zone as people and robots whizzed past them, Terra then spotted a Spiran clothing store.

"Hey if there's one thing to be said of the Spirans, it's that they've got some of the finest travel gear in the known universe." Terra replied as Ven smirked.

"I should know, I'm married to one." He remarked as they entered the store.

A while later Ven had picked out a matching ensemble of light armor with a silvery shoulder guard on his left shoulder. (A/N: Take a look at the latest screenshots of Birth by Sleep and you will see both Ven and Terra's costumes)

Vincent however had refused to switch from his business suit and thus bought nothing.

Terra was still searching.

"Well…fancy running into you guys here." Aqua said as she and Aerith entered.

"Hey Aqua…what do ya think?" Ven asked as he showed off his new clothes.

"Pretty sweet." Aqua said as she then turned to look around on her own.

Terra on the other hand had found a set of clothing that he found interesting and was trying the clothes on in the men's dressing room as Aqua passed by with a set she had found interesting. She noticed Terra's business jacket hanging over the edge of the dressing room door and a mischievous smile crept over her face.

She quickly grabbed the jacket, yanked it down from the door and then bolted, knocking over a full garbage can in her haste.

Terra opened the door, partially dressed, and noticed the pile of trash on the floor and hit a button on the wall marked _"Call Garbage Disposal Bot." _and almost instantly a small door on the wall opened and a small, yellow, square shaped box, with two small strips of hazard stripes on the sides, and covered in scuff marks appeared.

On the front of the box was written in bold letters WALL-E with the E in a red circle.

Instantly a pair of binocular shaped eyes, two arms, and a pair of treads extended from out of the box and looked curiously at Terra who pointed at the pile of spilled trash.

The robot instantly "oohed" curiously at the pile and instantly rolled over to it.

He then extended his arms, opened a large panel on his front, and started scooping the trash into the cavity in his frame.

Terra watched with intrigue as the robot did his duty, though stopped him when it unearthed his jacket.

"Hold on there…that jacket is mine." He said as the robot stopped, looked at the Terra, then the jacket, then grabbed the jacket, and held it out to him.

"Thank you." Terra said as he grabbed the jacket but as he pulled the he began hearing a ripping noise; the robot had gotten a loose thread from one of the seams caught in his claw. As the robot pulled more it unraveled part of the seam.

"Hey cut it out." Terra said as something in the seam caught his eye.

"Wait…keep pulling." Terra said as the robot started pulling again and eventually a long silvery strip of metal fell out and onto the floor. The robot quickly grabbed the object and held it up to Terra.

Terra grabbed it and started to examine it, but he knew what it was.

"A BNL Intel department tracking and listening device?" Terra said as he paused, _"How could this have gotten in my jacket?" _he thought, and then paled as he flashed back to his conversation with Aerith back on the gummy ship.

He had practically given whoever had planted the device everything about their mission…including where his family was hiding.

"Oh no…" Terra said as he quickly finished dressing and opened the door to find the little robot still sitting there.

"What?" he asked as the robot quickly compacted the trash in his cavity and opened up as the garbage rolled out in a cube. He then looked back up at Terra and held out his claw as if expecting a handshake.

"_Wwwallee"_ The robot greeted in a mechanical voice.

"Terra…and thanks." Terra greeted back as he shook the robot's hand and ran off to find the others.

The robot "sighed" as he watched Terra leave. He then sadly grabbed the compacted cube, and rolled away through the door.

Terra, now dressed and having paid for his travel clothes, carried his jacket and the listening device to where the rest of the group was waiting for him outside of the store.

"Guys we have a serious problem." He said as he held up the device.

"What is it?" Ven asked as Terra looked around.

"Not here…the most secure place right now should be the bridge." Terra said as he began leading them towards the bridge.

Not far behind them the little cleaner bot was still scrubbing along after our heroes.

* * *

Our heroes reached the bridge, and the door instantly opened.

"I thought you said this place was secure?" Aqua asked.

"It is…you have to have your finger prints in the ship's computer to use the controls." Terra said as he looked around the large room, but was un-aware of the black and white steering wheel descending from the ceiling behind him.

"_Identify yourself."_ The voice said as Terra whirled around and came face to face with…

"AUTO…how many times must I tell you to not scare me like that?" Terra berated.

"_Apologies Terra…I must inquire as to your presence on the bridge." _AUTO replied.

"It's ok AUTO I just need to talk quietly with my friends for a moment." Terra replied as the robot spun around to face the on lookers.

"_Greetings I am AUTO…the automated piloting system for the 1071 Axiom…at your service."_ The robot said as it approached them.

"Alone AUTO." Terra said as the wheel turned back around and moved back along the ceiling towards him.

"_I am afraid that is not possible Terra."_ The robot replied.

"Not if you just move over there." Terra suggested as the robot glanced in the direction he was pointing then back at Terra. Finally the robot moved at high speed across the room, towards a console, and started inputting commands.

Terra was satisfied however with the robot's actions.

"Ok guys we have a major problem on our hands…" Terra said as he held up the T&L device, "I found this in the seam of my jacket."

"What is it?" Aerith asked, as no one noticed a small light on the bottom of the device illuminate.

"It is a tracking and listening device, it's built by BNL exclusively for its intelligence department." Terra replied, as across the room AUTO paused.

"It has a long but limited range, and I'm betting that whoever planted it is somewhere on Midgar." Terra said as AUTO slowly input a command and set it to stand by.

"Could it reach us from the Islands?" Ven asked as Terra shook his head.

"No. That's why I think it came from Midgar." Terra replied as something occurred to Vincent.

"Wait…did you say something that shouldn't have been said since we've been back?" the Turk asked as Aerith clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Oh no…he told me about what's going on with you guys." Aerith said as everyone looked at her with a shocked expression then they looked at Terra.

"It gets worse…I told her where our families were." Terra said as Ven and Aqua looked at each other with looks of dread.

"We have to get back to the islands." Ven said as he, Aqua, and Terra made a b-line for the door only to crash into it.

"What's going on?" Aqua asked as Terra stood up and pushed on the door.

"I don't understand it…the doors are supposed to open automatically." Terra said as he scratched his chin.

Then a look of dread crossed his face and he turned the T&L device over to see the "Active" light on…He then looked up to see Ven and Aqua backing away from him.

Terra then turned around to see AUTO hovering behind him.

"Open the door AUTO." Terra ordered.

"_I am afraid that my directive now prevents me from following your orders." _AUTO said as his wheel spun slightly and one of the handles on the wheel aimed towards Terra, revealing that it was a claw, and snatched the T&L device from his hand.

"What are you talking abo-…" Terra said as he suddenly realized, "You!! You are the one who planted the tracker?!" Terra said as AUTO moved away towards a console and quickly executed the command he had on standby causing a force field to be erected around the five humans.

"_You are correct though inaccurate Terra…" _The robot replied, _"…Captain's steward robot GO-4 installed the tracking and listening device in your jacket on my instruction."_

"But…why?" Terra asked.

"_It is part of directive A-1-13." _AUTO replied.

"A-1-13? That's not one of your directives." Terra said.

"_Correction…it is not part of my original set of directives…Directive A-1-13 was input approximately 5.7 months ago by an unknown user identified only as Sanzun." _AUTO replied as Terra furrowed his brow.

"I don't know any Sanzun." Terra said.

"_I have analyzed the BNL company records and have found no-one by the name of Sanzun in the employee records…"_ AUTO said as he approached_ "…but that does not mean that I am not to follow my directives…I must follow my directives."_

"Then what is A-1-13?" Terra asked as Vincent noticed a set of exposed wiring above his head and started stealth fully un-holstering the tazer.

"_Directive A-1-13…the covert monitoring of subject Terra…and recording of any and all movements and conversations…once sufficient information regarding the following subjects; Keyblade, kingdom knights, and Kingdom Hearts, has been acquired from subject…compile data for transfer to hard disk and contact subject J. Silver via BNL network." _AUTO replied as he placed the T&L device on the floor.

Suddenly the inverted triangle robot from before, GO-4, appeared with a full garbage can in its claws and dumped its contents on top of the device.

"…_and if discovered by subject… terminate evidence and subject at all costs."_ AUTO finished as he then turned towards a console.

"I thought you said you could only use the console if your fingerprints were in the ship's systems?" Ven whispered.

"The same rule doesn't apply to robots." Terra responded as AUTO pressed a button on the console.

"_Executing directive…" _AUTO said as he turned back towards the group and a series of mechanical noises started causing everyone to wonder if it wasn't them he was executing.

* * *

**End Chapter 8.**

I do not own any of the characters from WALL-E neither.


	9. AUTOmatic Annilation

Everyone flinched as they heard the mechanical sound but Terra instantly recognized the mechanical humming noise that came immediately afterwards.

From a small door in the wall rolled Wall-e, who paused as he saw Terra and waved with a cheery expression.

"Wall-e?" Terra asked surprised as the robot rolled over to him and examined the force field. He then reached out and touched it receiving a powerful shock, which knocked him over.

"Careful don't touch the force fields." Terra said after the fact as Wall-e sat up and blinked.

"_Waste Allocation Load Lifter – type E, perform your programmed task immediately."_ AUTO ordered as Wall-e then looked at Terra who lowered his head in defeat as he watched Wall-e move towards the pile of trash.

Then Terra got an idea, and whistled at Wall-E. When the robot looked over at him, Terra held up his jacket and pointed at the unwoven seam, then at the pile of trash.

Wall-e then looked back at the pile and started sifting through it until he found the device and held it up triumphantly.

"_WALL-E follow your directives immediately." _AUTO ordered again causing the robot to cower slightly.

"TAKE IT AND RUN WALL-E!!" Terra yelled as Wall-e instantly complied throwing the device in his empty cavity and started rolling around the bridge, with GO-4 following in pursuit immediately thereafter.

"_I must follow my Directives!" _AUTO said as he blocked Wall-e's escape route and attempted to grab the device with his claw.

"Don't let him have it Waldo!!" Aqua yelled

"Wall-e" Terra corrected.

"Wall-e!" Aqua repeated.

The little robot ran towards a console and crashed into it causing a disk to fall into his cavity.

"_The information disk!!"_ AUTO yelled as he saw the disc fall in.

"We have to get that disk!!" Ven said as Vincent then activated the tazer and threw it into the exposed wiring above his head, causing it to throw off sparks and the force field to collapse.

AUTO spun around just as Terra leapt onto the wheel causing the robot to spin madly.

Wall-e continued running around trying to avoid GO-4.

Outside the door the little cleaner bot reached the door and looked up curiously at it, he then rolled over towards a small panel on the outside and rolled through it and onto the bridge. He then continued his cleaning, completely oblivious the chaos around him.

Aqua, Vince, and Ven frantically started looking at the control panels.

"Which one is the communications?!" Ven asked frantically.

"The…panel to your LEFT!!" Terra cried out as AUTO continued to try and throw him off.

Ven ran over and started hitting the buttons in a vain attempt to activate the communications system to call Cid for pick up.

"Nothing's working!!" Ven yelled

"Duh because our finger prints have to be in the system! Remember?!" Aqua yelled back as Aerith noticed the cleaner bot still scrubbing along. She ran over to him and quickly ran her finger in a line along the floor in front of it.

The robot stopped and made an annoyed warble noise before scrubbing over where she ran her finger.

Aerith then grabbed the little robot and carried him over to the control panel and started rubbing her finger over the button on the console marked "All frequency hail" and set the robot down on top of the console.

The bot narrowed its yellow, squared optics and instantly ran the scrubber over the button activating it.

Ven, having watched this, quickly leaned into a microphone that had popped up from the console.

"CID this is Ven, get us out of here NOW!!" He yelled as the familiar voice of the gummy pilot was heard over the speakers.

"TEN FOUR GUYS!! Cid Highwind coming around!!" Cid yelled over the speakers and the microphone folded back down into the console.

"Thanks little guy." Aerith said as the robot looked at her curiously.

"Mo." The little robot replied as Aerith shook it's scrubber in a make-shift hand shake.

"I always…knew there was something…funny about you…AUTO!!" Terra yelled as the steering wheel charged head first for a bulkhead.

Terra noticed and fell to the floor causing the robot to crash head first into the wall.

"_Ow." _AUTO replied as Terra smirked.

"Doesn't that thing have an off switch!?" Vincent yelled causing Terra to notice a switch near AUTO's base that read "Manual control override."

Terra turned to Vincent.

"I'll distract him you get to that switch!" Terra yelled as he leapt back up onto AUTO's face again causing the robot to start thrashing about again.

Vincent dodged the flailing AUTO and just as he was about to reach the switch, GO-4 ran into his legs causing him to fall to the ground.

Vincent then looked up towards at the switch and saw it had a cover with a lock on it with what appeared to be a slot for a key.

"It's got a lock on it Terra!" Vincent replied as he threw GO-4 off of his chest.

"FIELD GOAL!!" Aqua yelled as she ran up and punted GO-4 towards the malfunctioning force field which activated, with him inside causing him to bounce around like a ping pong ball before finally exploding.

Aqua, Ven, and Wall-e, who was no longer being chased, just made the international touchdown sign. (Sticking their arms straight up.)

"A little help HERE?!" Terra yelled as he held on to AUTO for dear life and the steering wheel slammed him into a bulkhead, causing him to fall off.

"Ow." Terra moaned.

"_I must follow my directives." _AUTO said as he turned towards the others.

"Well you're not going to succeed in your directives!" Ven replied as he pointed at the robot, as he did though his Keyblade appeared in his hand, which gave Vincent an idea.

"Ven the lock!" he yelled as Ven aimed the Keyblade at the locked switch and a blue circle of magic formed around the end and a blue beam shot out and hit the keyhole causing the lid over the switch to open.

AUTO simply spun his base around so they couldn't reach it.

"_Resistance is Futile." _AUTO said as he approached the four humans and two robots but suddenly stopped.

"_Manual override!!"_ AUTO said as he suddenly moved to the center of the room facing away from the forward windows and telescoped down slightly, and his red optic turned black as he deactivated.

Everyone turned back to see Terra standing where AUTO was hovering.

"That should take care of that." Terra replied wiping his hands and walked over to a console.

Terra proceeded to delete the information that AUTO had stored up on them and, after removing the T&L device from Wall-e's cavity, had Wall-e compact the data disk amongst the garbage that GO-4 had dumped on the floor earlier.

"Wait a minute…I thought our prints weren't in the computer?" Ven asked.

"Five months before the Axiom was ready, I was assigned the task of ensuring that AUTO was ready for installation into the ship. I even oversaw his installation and so my prints are in the database." Terra replied as he unlocked the doors just as three men in blue SOLDIER uniforms burst in, Cloud was one of them.

"What's going on up here?" Cloud asked as Terra turned to the man.

"I had received word that AUTO wasn't functioning properly so I decided to check him out and show off the bridge at the same time." Terra lied as Cloud noticed the burnt out GO-4 on the floor and arched an eyebrow.

"And how do you explain the smoking robot on the floor?" Cloud asked.

"Force field malfunction." Terra replied as he pointed to the shorted wires in the ceiling panel.

"So why is AUTO on manual override?" Cloud asked glancing at the inactive steering wheel.

"He wasn't cooperating…good thing I had a spare key to his override switch." Terra said as he dangled a key on a small chain…it was actually his office key but only Terra knew the difference.

"Ok then." Cloud was satisfied.

"Oh you may want to have his directives wiped and replaced…they're so badly corrupted that it would take months just to defrag them." Terra finished as Cloud nodded.

"Oh and with your permission…I would like to take these two robots here with me." Terra added as he pointed to Wall-e and M-O.

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"Because my house needs a good cleaning." Terra said as Cloud nodded with a knowing smirk.

"Well those are the kind to use…tell Zack and Riku I said hello." Cloud said with a wave as he and the other two SOLDIERs turned and left.

"Come on guys let's find out where Cid landed." Ven said as the five humans and two robots followed along, with M-O scrubbing along behind them.

* * *

"There you are…so what's the emergency?" Cid asked as they entered one of the Axiom's hangers.

"Sorry about that Cid but the danger has passed…" Terra replied.

"…and a crisis averted." Aqua added.

"Huh?" Cid asked.

"Let me put it to you this way…" Ven said taking Cid aside, "…even the walls have ears."

Cid nodded understandingly and a few moments later the gummy ship lifted off and headed back towards the surface.

"So why did you decide to bring those two robots along?" Ven asked.

"Well…Wall-e was the one who discovered the bug, and Zack always wanted a Microbe Obliterator." Terra replied as he watched M-O scrubbing around the ship.

"They are kind of cute." Aerith said as Wall-e awed in a pleased response.

"So Aerith you want us to drop you off back at your place?" Vincent asked.

"For a moment yes…" She replied as Vincent arched an eyebrow.

"A moment?" Ven asked.

"Yes I think you could use some help on this adventure, and I want to do what I can other than just root for you…so I need to pack a few things first." Aerith replied with a smile towards Terra.

"I vote in favor of her joining us!!" Aqua said as her hand shot up.

"Can't stand being the only girl amongst five guys huh?" Ven asked knowingly.

"Hey we got enough room for ten people here…more if ya'll share rooms." Cid said over his shoulder.

"I still don't quite know your names yet though." Aerith said with a shrug.

"Allow me…" Terra replied as he pointed to everyone one at a time, "…that's Ven, Aqua, Cid Highwind, Vincent Valentine, and Mickey Mouse…you know Wall-e, M-O, and myself already."

"Pleasure." Aerith responded, "I'm Aerith Gainsborough."

"She's also the only person in all of Midgar that sells actual flowers." Terra added.

"I'm the only one who knows how to keep them alive." She replied with a smile.

"That must take a lot of work for something so difficult to do in Midgar." Vincent said.

"What do you mean by that?" Aqua asked with an arched eyebrow.

"The reactors located around Midgar…those tall buildings on the edge of the walls…" Terra answered, "…are Mako reactors…Mako supposedly drains the life from the ground around them, making it next to impossible to have a garden that isn't hanging off of someone's window."

"But Aerith is the only person I know who can do it so easily." Terra added as Aerith smiled at him from across the room.

"Wow." Ven replied as he then turned to see Wall-e making track marks in the floor with his treads and watch M-O get frustrated with having to clean it up.

An hour later the gummy ship soared off into the stars after Aerith had gotten back from packing.

"So…where to now?" Cid asked from the controls.

"I think we should go to Master Yen Sid first." Mickey said as almost everyone nodded.

"Probably a good idea, I mean we don't know where to go next right?" Ven replied

"Sounds like we're heading to Radiant Garden then." Cid said over his shoulder.

"Sounds like." Terra replied as Cid punched in the coordinates.

The gummy ship lurched as it streaked off into space.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The inactive AUTO was wheeled down on a stretcher down a long white corridor as a hunched man in a white lab coat, glasses, and with his long dark hair in a ponytail, waited outside a pair of doors marked "Robotics reprogramming area."

"Ha…it's about time you fools got here…I'm amazed to see AUTO still in one piece!" the man berated the two assistants who merely cowered slightly and wheeled the robot through the doors and then moved to place it on a large table.

"Careful you fools… he is an expensive piece of equipment." The man berated again as the two men left.

As the door closed, the man quickly locked it and maneuvered a crane to pick up the steering wheel and attach it to a flat, low hanging, panel where the magnetic sliding grips on the base of the wheel instantly locked on.

"Now let's see what you've got here." The man said as he flipped the manual override switch off and AUTO hummed back to life.

"_AUTO!" _The machine replied in its autonomous monotone voice.

"Ah good…so far no memory loss." The man replied as the wheel looked at him.

"_Greetings Professor Hojo." _AUTO greeted _"…where am I?" _

"My lab, where else…you were ordered removed from the Axiom to have your directives deleted and replaced…but I can't do anything until I've examined your directives for any…irregularities." Hojo replied as he brought up a list of directives and had the computer cross reference them against the original list.

The computer then started to beep as it came across directive A-1-13.

"Interesting." Hojo stated as he arched an eyebrow and turned to the wheel, "What pray tell is Directive A-1-13?"

"_Directive A-1-13…the covert monitoring of subject Terra…and recording of any and all movements and conversations…once sufficient information regarding the following subjects; Keyblade, Kingdom Knights, and Kingdom Hearts, has been acquired from subject…compile data for transfer to hard disk and contact subject J. Silver via BNL network…and if discovered by subject Terra… terminate evidence and subject at all costs."_ AUTO replied as Hojo arched an interested eyebrow.

"Hmm… Keyblades? Kingdom Hearts?" Hojo said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Tell me AUTO…" Hojo said as he leaned forward, "What…have you found?"

* * *

**End Chapter 9**

Me: First of all...

I like Wall-e and M-O…and AUTO for that matter. Despite the fact that I like EVE just as much, she won't be appearing in this story…I'm saving her for a sequel fic to Reunion.


	10. Many Meetings

Radiant Garden lived up to its name on a daily basis, and today was no exception for our heroes.

The gummy ship landed in a blue canyon as per gummy ship landing instructions, and our heroes disembarked, with the exception of M-O who was still busy scrubbing.

"Whoa look at this place." Ven said as they looked around.

Instantly two Turks approached them. One of them with red spiky hair, a pair of goggles around his forehead, his jacket unbuttoned, and carrying a metal nightstick. The other was bald and wore sunglasses.

"Hey Valentine!!" the red haired one said as he approached.

"Not now Reno." Valentine replied.

"……."

"Rude be nice to the senior officer." Reno said to his quiet partner with a smirk as Vincent's eyes twitched.

"RENO!" a voice from behind the two Turks called, and Vincent smirked at the man approaching.

The young man was dressed like typical Turks, except he had his black hair in a ponytail.

"Watch it you two…you may be Turks now but you will still respect your superior officers." The man warned before turning to the small group before him.

"My apologies sir…it won't happen again." He said with a bow.

"Tseng…nice to see you on top of things." Vincent replied.

"You trained me well." Tseng said as he stood at attention.

"Uh Vinnie?" Aqua asked, causing Vincent's eye to twitch in the process, "you mind introducing us to your friend?"

"Down Aqua." Ven said as Aqua shot him a look as if saying "bite me."

"?!" (Translated: Vinnie?!)

"Yeah…that's rich." Reno snickered in response to Rude's statement.

"This is Tseng…my protégé, those two are Reno, and Rude." Vincent introduced.

"Is he rude because he's so quiet?" Terra asked innocently.

"Naw it's his name." Reno replied.

"I hate to correct you sir but I am no longer your protégé." Tseng said as Vincent arched an eyebrow, "I have been made a full Turk…I have a protégé of my own now." He added as a young female Turk with short blond hair approached and stood at attention behind Tseng.

"This is my protégé...Elena." Tseng introduced.

"Or 'Laney for short." Reno said as the woman's eye twitched.

"Oh yes, Karen's younger sister." Vincent said as the woman's eye twitched again.

"Uh Vinnie?" Aqua called again now causing Vincent's eye to twitch again, "Don't we have somewhere to be?"

"Yes…we do, follow me." Vincent replied as the other Turks stood at attention when they passed.

"Who were those guys?" Cid asked after they entered the city.

"Turks…the local law enforcement of Radiant Garden…I'm one of them." Vincent replied as he stopped dead in his tracks and held a threatening finger at Aqua.

"And never…ever…call me Vinnie or any other sort of name other than my full first and/or last name…got it?" Vincent demanded as Aqua nodded quickly.

"I'm just trying to be friendly." She mumbled under her breath.

The heroes followed Vincent around for a moment as he led them through the castle to Ansem's study, receiving salutes along the way from the various Turks lining the halls.

Finally they reached the doors and Vincent knocked on it then stood at attention.

"Come in." Ansem the Wise's voice echoed.

"Ah Mr. Valentine, I see you have returned with our new friends." Ansem said as he stood up to greet them and Yen Sid appeared from what appeared to be an ordinary looking wall.

"What's this?" Ansem asked as he noticed Aerith and Wall-e.

"I'm sorry sir but I'm the reason that they're here." Terra said as he approached and held out the T&L device…now rendered inactive thanks to his removing the batteries.

"This was planted in my jacket prior to your…kidnapping of me and I inadvertently gave away our entire mission details to a malfunctioning robotic pilot." Terra confessed as Yen Sid's eyes widened.

"What?" he asked disbelievingly.

"We did however locate and silence the robot before he sent anything." Ven added.

"Robots are crafty machines when their programming requires them to be." Ansem said as he sat back down.

"But that doesn't answer the question of who they are." He added.

"Oh…this is Wall-e…" Terra said as Wall-e emptied a garbage can into his cavity and compacted it into a cube.

"_Ta-dah!"_ The robot said as he presented the cube, earning a silent snicker from Ansem.

"…and this is…" "Aerith Gainsborough, the last of the Cetra." Yen Sid said with awe as he walked over to her.

"The what?" Aqua asked.

"The Cetra are believed to be the creators of Kingdom Hearts…and the forgers of the Keyblades." Yen Sid replied.

"I-is this true Aerith?" Terra asked.

"Yes…I am a Cetra…but I know only a few precious details about my ancestors." She replied.

"The Cetra are rumored to have great magical capabilities." Yen Sid said.

"So that explains how she can grow those flowers so easily is all…it doesn't make her some almighty deity." Aqua said as Aerith nodded slightly in agreement.

"But I did know that Terra was a Kingdom Knight since the moment I first met him." She said as a look of surprise appeared on Terra's face.

"Really?" he asked.

"Mmm hmm." She said with a nod, "Are you mad at me?"

"No…worlds no." Terra replied, "I just wish you had let me know ahead of time that's all."

"I wish I could have let you known." She replied sadly.

"With all due respect…" Vincent said as he spoke up, "…but how does her being a Cetra change anything?"

"She is a vital key to helping us find Kingdom Hearts before the darkness does." Yen Sid replied.

"Will you help us?" Mickey asked.

"Of course I will…that's why I came with you guys anyway." Aerith replied with a smile as Wall-e rolled up.

"_Wwwallee?" _The robot asked.

"Of course you can help." Ven replied as Wall-e made a rapid yet happy sounding wriggling noise.

"We have another one of them robots on the ship…calls himself Mo, won't stop cleaning things." Cid added, "…on the other hand I've never seen the ship any cleaner than it has in years."

"Uh M-O is short for Microbe Obliterator." Terra interjected.

"Oh yes I've seen them before." Ansem said.

"We also came here to ask where we should go next." Ven added as he steered the conversation back on topic.

"You shall go to the world of your wife's heritage Ven…to Spira." Yen Sid answered.

"My Apprentice was quite fond of it and would visit there often…it is also the location of the ruins of Zanarkand." He added.

"Zanarkand…I recall Lulu mentioning something about a place called Zanarkand." Ven answered.

"Zanarkand was once the most magical city in the world of Spira, but a time of war stirred up against the people of the city of Bevelle and consumed most of the planet, it wasn't until a monstrous being referred to only as Sin destroyed both Zanarkand and Bevelle did the war end…" the wizard explained, "…however Sin still lives and terrorizes the people of Spira even to this day."

"Oh please if that's the case then why hasn't Sin been spotted in over a hundred years?" Terra scoffed.

"Because he still slumbers somewhere upon Spira." The wizard replied as Terra shut himself up again.

"No wonder my wife hates you." Ven whispered to the Midgar native.

"But what threat does it pose if it's asleep master?" Mickey asked.

"The growing darkness may cause it to stir and eventually awaken…you must go to Spira…find a summoner and destroy the beast before it is too late!" Yen Sid said as Ven raised his hand but the wizard anticipated the question.

"I am aware that your wife is a summoner…but not the kind we need." The wizard replied.

"Huh?" Ven asked.

"I don't summon the Aeons Ven…" a familiar voice replied, "…I guard the ones who do."

"Lu?!" Ven asked in shock as he turned to see his wife standing behind them in a long black dress with belts around the front, her hair up in a bun, and holding a moogle doll. (Her FF-X appearance)

"Yes Ven it's me." She replied as they moved in and embraced.

"And don't forget me!" another voice said as Terra turned a deep shade of red.

"ZACK!!" he yelled as said youngster appeared.

"Y-yes sir?"

"WHAT are you doing here? You're supposed to be watching Riku!" Terra yelled.

"Relax uncle Terra he's with a nice family and that Sora kid doesn't even know his mom isn't really there." Zack replied very nonchalantly.

"What are you talking about?" Ven asked as he and Lulu broke their embrace.

"A living hallucination." Yen Sid answered.

"A what?" nearly the whole room asked.

"Sora, and everyone around him, believes that his mother is really there taking care of him, so much so that they can even feel her presence…but I cannot maintain the hallucination for long." Yen Sid answered.

"Oh like a hologram that can talk, pick up things, and think for itself?" Terra asked as the wizard nodded.

"Oh…" Terra replied before returning to his angry self and turning back to his Nephew, "WHAT PART OF STAY WITH RIKU DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!"

Zack quickly ran behind Aerith and started sobbing and Wall-e quickly folded into a rattling box.

"Do not yell at the boy Terra." The wizard interrupted, "I brought them both against their will…Riku won't even remember Zack."

"You really have a nasty habit of that you know?" Aqua told the wizard as Terra knelt down to Zack's level.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Terra apologized as Zack peaked around Aerith's dress.

"You mean it?" he asked with a sob.

"Hey you know that gummy ship out there?" Terra asked, as Zack nodded, "…well it stopped with a jerk and I got off."

Zack giggled as he ran over and hugged his uncle.

"So what's so special about Spira? No offence Lu." Ven asked.

"Because hidden beneath the ruins of Zanarkand are ancient Cetra ruins that may have clues as to where Kingdom Hearts is hidden." Yen Sid answered.

"Xehanort had a silent interest in the history of the Cetra." He added.

"And I can read Cetra so it's no problem." Aerith added as Yen Sid spoke up again.

"You need to hurry…I fear that the forces that the robot was conspiring with are already working on Spira as we speak." He said as everyone nodded.

"Lulu can only stay with you for this mission alone…then she must return to the Destiny Islands." The wizard said as everyone turned and ran out the door to the gummy ship, which minutes later roared into space.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

In an unknown area of space, a large vessel similar in appearance to a 16th century sail boat only with more modern features, sits in waiting, but it isn't at all lifeless.

It is captained by one of the most notorious space pirates in the known universe, the cyborg, Captain John Silver.

Silver clanked into his quarters, and pressed a button on a small holo-phone and a dark visage appeared instantly.

"_What is it?"_ the figure asked.

"Beggin' yer pardon me lord." The cyborg replied, "…but we still haven't received anything from that a cursed bot from those BNL bilge rats."

"_You need not worry Silver…you will be contacted soon by another agent amongst their ranks." _The visage replied as it held up a golden spherical object with strange markings on it, _"Then you shall have what you desire."_

"So uh…how will I know ye agent?" the cyborg asked.

"_He will find you and give the information directly to you…as well as give you some navigational…assistance." _The visage replied.

"What sort of assistance?" Silver asked as he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?!" he asked enraged and the door opened revealing a tall crab/spiderlike creature which entered.

"Beggin' yer pardon captain…" the creature said in a gruff voice, "…but there is a gummy ship approaching off the port bow."

"_That is the one you are waiting for…do not fire upon it!" _the visage said as Silver nodded.

"Ye heard the man Mr. Scroop now get crackin!" Silver ordered as the monster turned and scuttled out the door on its eight legs.

A moment later a dark colored gummy ship pulled alongside the sailor ship, and a man wearing a white lab coat, glasses, and with his black hair in a pony tail disembarked.

Silver recognized the man immediately.

"Hojo me bucco, how ye been?" Silver asked as Hojo snarled at the pirate captain.

"Spare me your bohemian flattery, and listen you metal plated buffoon." The scientist responded as he dug into his coat and pulled out a data disk.

"Now this you are to take to Spira, and hand it over to your superiors when they arrive." Hojo added handing the pirate the disk.

"Problem!!" the pirate responded, "There is next to no way to get there without either getting caught by the Montressor patrols or taking the Pelucia passage…which is very difficult to navigate."

"Not for a robot." Hojo responded as a white and black robotic steering wheel attached underneath a large four legged machine emerged from the gummy ship.

"_AUTO!" _The robot replied as the Pirate smiled sinisterly.

"This may just work out after all." He replied with a sinister laugh.

* * *

**End Chapter 10**

Incase you're wondering...John Silver & Scroop are from one of what I call "Disney's flop film series." In other words a film that flopped in the box office. This particular film (I liked this one) was Treasure Planet…the rights of which I do not own.


	11. The Road to Spira

"So…" Ven asked as he turned to Lulu.

They were in Ven's quarters on the gummy ship. It was a small one person bunk room with a single twin sized bed along the wall with a single window on the opposite wall giving a nice view of space. Cid had been using it as an extra storage room but everyone had pitched in to move all the supplies into an unfurnished room next to the main cargo bay.

"I know what you're thinking…" She said as a buzzing noise started echoing through the room.

"Really…cause now I'm wondering what that noise is." Ven replied as he and Lulu started looking around. Then M-O slowly entered, scrubbing the floor as he went, and headed straight towards Lulu.

"What is that?" Lulu asked.

"A microbe obliterator." Ven replied.

"Mo" the robot added.

"But we just call him Mo." Ven added as M-O started scrubbing Lulu's boots.

"They haven't been this clean in ages." Lulu said as she lifted her leg slightly to look at said boot. "Carry on…Mo."

"Mo"

"Ok but seriously," Ven said as he turned to his wife, "What has changed?"

"Well…the store is still there only old man Michaels runs it…" Lulu answered, "Aqua's house looks old and abandoned…like it did before we helped her and Mune renovate it."

"Yeah…what about Terra's son Riku…how's he doing?" Ven asked…he naturally thought of others ahead of him…which is possibly why he was chosen by the Keyblade.

"The Clives took him in." Lulu said as she watched M-O leave and Wall-e come in and empty the trash can.

"Oh they're good people…poor Sandra can't uh…" Ven was about to say something but stopped as he knew it wasn't appropriate.

"Yeah." Lulu replied knowingly as she turned to watch the roving trash compactor.

"Oh that's Wall-e" Ven added.

"_Wwwallee" _the robot replied as it compacted the trash.

"_Ta-dah"_ Wall-e said as he showed off his trash cube.

"Another one for your collection eh Wall-e?" Ven asked as the robot nodded and ran off with the cube.

"Collection?" Lulu asked with an amused grin.

"He's building a fort for Zack until Terra can think of what to do with the boy." Ven replied.

"What a sweet thought…for a robot." Lulu replied as they kissed.

"I know Aqua is or has already asked you this…" Ven asked as they parted, "…how's Kairi?"

"She's good…she's been taken in by the Mayor and his wife." Lulu replied.

"Oh that's good." Ven said with a nod.

"And you won't believe who's playing with her now and not hiding from her." Lulu said with a smirk.

"You're joking? Sora?" Ven asked as Lulu nodded.

"Well I'll be dipped…my only regret is that I'm not there to see it." Ven said as he sighed and lowered his head slightly.

"Hey…you'll be back sooner than you think." Lulu said as she leaned in for another kiss and Ven kicked the lock button on the door.

* * *

Terra and Zack were in the galley sitting at one of the tables as Vincent walked in. He was not wearing his jacket and he didn't have his tie on but he did have on a white dress shirt and a tan colored holster harnessed underneath his left arm, everything else however was normal.

"Oh sorry…didn't mean to intrude." The Turk said as he noticed the two.

"It's ok Vincent…we're not talking about anything personal." Terra replied as Zack admired Cerberus in its holster.

"Nice gun though." Zack said as Terra gave the boy a death glare.

"Zack." He said warningly.

"Just kidding…seriously guns aren't cool…" Zack replied as Vincent just stood there drinking a mug of coffee, "…now those big buster swords like Cloud has…now those are cool."

"Got your eyes on SOLDIER huh?" Vincent asked.

"He's trying to find an excuse out of going back to the islands." Terra replied.

"Isn't there a Jr. SOLDIER department?" Vincent asked, "I even hear that some of the top class members are recruiting kids as young as nine."

"I've thought about that Vincent but I'm just not sure." Terra said as something then occurred to him.

"Wait how do you know about SOLDIER?" he asked.

"I have a friend in SOLDIER…in fact I think you've heard of him…Angeal Hewley?" Vincent replied as Terra looked unconvinced.

"Get outta here…" Terra said blowing Vincent off.

"It's true." Vincent replied.

"Angeal Hewley is a SOLDIER 1st class and probably it's most well known and respected member…everyone in Midgar knows his name." Terra stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes and I was the Turk assigned to aid him when he was tracking down a renegade scientist hiding out in Radiant Garden named Hollander" Vincent replied as Terra scoffed.

"Ok I'm calling your bluff Valentine." Terra said as Vincent shrugged walked out the door only to return moments later with a framed photo.

Terra arched an eyebrow as Vincent handed him the photo. It was a picture of Vincent and a man with long black hair wearing a black variation of the SOLDIER uniform and holding a large sword.

"I stand corrected." Terra said as he showed Zack the photo.

"WHOA you've met Angeal?!" Zack asked surprised.

"Nice guy Angeal…in fact…" Vincent replied, "…I think if memory serves he owes me a favor."

"What in the worlds did you do for him?" Terra asked.

"I just took a bullet for him is all." Vincent replied as Terra's eyes widened.

"Ok prove it." Terra said as Vincent shrugged and pulled his shirt up slightly revealing a dark red scar near his navel.

"I hate you." Terra said as he looked away with a frustrated look on his face.

"Oh come on Uncle Terra…" Zack said "…I could get free boarding at the SOLDIER training facility and I would have Cloud watching my back."

"That's true…he did say he could make sure you got in the right places." Terra replied as he thought a little harder.

"And who knows…maybe someday I could help you out on your adventure." Zack added.

"Ok I'm sold…get packed you're going to the SOLDIER academy…just as soon as we can get back to Midgar." Terra said as Zack started chanting_ "I'm gonna be a SOLDIER, I'm gonna be a SOLDIER"_ in a sing song manner and dancing around the room.

"You're loving this aren't you?" Vincent asked as he noticed Terra's expression of pure joy.

"More than you know." Terra replied.

* * *

"I thought so." Vincent said as he sipped his coffee.

Cid walked down the corridor that led to the gummy ship's guest rooms, as he did he passed Aqua standing across from Ven's quarters with a mischievous look on her face and a fist full of wiring in her hand.

Cid paused for a moment as he looked at the door and noticed that the circuits in the wall next to the door had been pulled.

"I don't care what you do to pester the guy just don't vandalize my ship when you do it." Cid remarked as Aqua signaled for him to wait.

There was the familiar clomping of Ven's boots as he moved around inside, then after a moment there was a knock on the door.

"Uh hello…I think the door is broken." Ven said from the other side as Aqua snickered.

"AQUA I HEAR YOU SNICKERING!!" Ven yelled as Aqua started laughing.

"AQUA WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE YOU'RE DEAD!!" He yelled as she handed the wiring to Cid and connected two wires still inside the panel then bolted as the locks on the door disengaged.

Ven pulled the door open as Cid pointed in the direction Aqua had run off.

"Thanks." Ven replied as he started off after her while Cid started working on repairing the door circuits.

* * *

Mickey was helping Wall-e and Zack build the Fort in the main cargo bay.

"So you used to work on a steamboat before they started building a castle?" Zack asked the apprentice.

"Yep…though my old boss Pete hasn't been seen since they shut him down." Mickey said with a slight frown.

"Bummer…I've never been on a boat before." Zack said putting a trash block onto the fort as Wall-e returned with another one.

"So this is what you're doing." Aerith said as she entered the cargo bay followed closely by M-O, who scrubbed along behind her.

"Hi Aerith." Zack said with a wave.

"Nice fort." Aerith complemented as M-O paused and stared at the garbage built fort.

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoaaah." _M-O said as he narrowed his optics and started moving towards the fort only to be blocked by Wall-e.

Wall-e knew how to guide M-O away and started making track marks in the ground causing M-O to start scrubbing after him.

Zack laughed as he watched the antics of the two robots.

Wall-e then put a track mark on M-O's face, causing the clean freak robot to scream in frustration as he tried to scrub it off…Zack however laughed even harder.

Aerith couldn't even hold back a silent chuckle.

"I hope I make it into SOLDIER." Zack said as Mickey and Aerith turned to face him.

"You will…I can feel it." Aerith said with a smile.

"You think so?" Zack asked

"I know so." Aerith replied.

"Yep…I think you're a shoo-in." Mickey encouraged as the alarms started blaring and Cid's voice rang our over the speakers.

"Hang on to your hat's boys-n-girls we're coming in for a landing!"

* * *

**Spira…**

Everyone ran to the windows as they entered the bridge.

They all saw a small island village.

"I don't believe it." Lulu said with a smile on her face.

"That's Besaid my home town." She said as Cid overheard with a smile and activated the gummy ship's repulsors, which would allow it to hover over the water, and guided it in for a landing.

A moment later Lulu was the first to set foot on the island's surface, and took a deep breath.

"Ahh it's so good to be back…I almost forgot what the water smelled like." She said.

"And you live on an island…" Aqua asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Leave her alone…it's her home." Ven said as he followed his wife.

"I wonder if anyone will recognize me." She wondered out loud…sure enough.

"ay Yuna, Tidus, Rikku, check it out it's Lulu she's back mon!" a man with a Polynesian accent said with orange hair and wearing a blue headband around his head, an orange vest with matching pants with three Xs up and down each leg, and what appeared to be orange body armor.

Three people emerged from a nearby hut.

The first a man who looked some degree like Ven, with black and bright blue overalls and an armored left arm, followed by a girl with brown hair and a single long pony tail down to her ankles wrapped in a long pink band and dressed in white robe top, with a long blue skirt, and yellow banner like things hanging from her upper arms.

The third, another girl, had blond hair, goggles, an orange shirt, green skirt, and a long blue scarf around her neck with the tassels ending around her…uh…waist.

"LULU!!" the girl in robes yelled as the woman in question smiled and walked over towards them, arms outstretched.

"Yuna it's good to see you again." Lulu said as the two hugged.

"Welcome home Lulu." The orange haired man said as he approached.

"It's nice to be back Wakka." Lulu responded as Ven cleared his throat.

"Oh…uh…a bit has happened to me while I've been gone um…" Lulu said nervously.

"Ven I would like you to meet Tidus (the Ven copy), Wakka (the orange haired one), Yuna (The robed one), and Rikku (the blond)." Lulu introduced.

"Everyone this is Ven my um…" Lulu gulped nervously as Aqua approached.

"Oh for Pete's sake…This is Lulu's husband Ven." Aqua blurted out as the other four's jaws dropped.

"Aqua…" Lulu said after a moment.

"Yes?" Aqua replied smugly.

"When we get back on the ship…I.Will.Kill.You." Lulu threatened as Ven smiled nervously at the four shocked Besaid residents in front of him.

* * *

**End Chapter 11.**

Me: I am making Lulu a slight bit OOC because it works better this way…

Also the little back story about Tidus getting flung 1000 years into the future isn't present.

Also if you don't know who Angeal Hewley is…Angeal was Zack's mentor when the latter was in SOLDIER in FFVII: Crisis Core.


	12. Spira

"You're MARRIED?!" the four Spirans before them all said with shocked expressions.

"Six years." Lulu replied with a smile.

"Wow Congrats Lulie" the blond said as she quickly hugged Lulu.

"Thanks Rikku." Lulu replied with a chuckle.

"Her name is Riku?" Terra asked as he approached.

"Two Ks Terra." Lulu replied.

"Oh." Terra said as he looked the four Spirans over.

"Oh allow me to make some introductions." Lulu said as the others approached and introduced them one by one.

Then Wall-e rolled out from the gummy ship and started looking around curiously, he then noticed the others off further down the beach and headed over towards them.

When the four islanders spotted Wall-e they froze.

"W-what is that?" Tidus asked.

"Huh oh that's just Wall-e" Ven replied.

"_Wwwallee" _the robot greeted as he extended a claw as if hoping for a handshake, but the islanders, save Rikku, stood and stared nervously at the machine.

"Is…he a…Machina?" Wakka asked nervously as Lulu remembered the ancient fear of machines of her homeworld.

"He's a robot." Aqua replied casually as the Spirans started backing away.

"Uh Wall-e I hate to ask this but could you wait on the gummy ship for us?" Lulu asked as Wall-e gave a sad whimper and rolled off.

"What's so wrong about Wall-e?" Terra asked.

"He's a Machina…if Sin ever attacked he would be the very first thing destroyed by him…followed by the entire town." Yuna replied.

"I thought Sin was a myth." Terra said as Lulu gave him an annoyed glare.

"Ignore him he's one of the BNL desk jockeys." Lulu replied and the other four nodded knowingly.

"But to answer his question…there have been reports recently of entire cities being wiped out by a massive beast…our only guess is that it must have been Sin…awakened at last, which means the calm must be over and another summoner must go and stop him." Tidus answered.

"And if anyone hates Machina it's Sin." Yuna added.

"It attracts him like a magnet ya?" Wakka said.

"Is my ship considered one of them Machina?" Cid asked.

"For some reason or another, gummy ships don't attract him." Yuna replied.

Before anyone else could say anything there was a high pitched squealing noise and everyone turned to see Wall-e being chased by a massive blue beast like creature with the body of a human, the head of a lion, a broken horn on its head, and blue fur from head to toe. It was wearing a bit of clothing just not much.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Aqua shouted as Vincent whipped out Cerberus and was about to fire but Lulu quickly pulled on his arm causing him to lower the gun.

"Whatever it is…it's not going to hurt Wall-e!" Terra said as he leapt out into the monster's path and summoned the Keyblade which caused the monster's eyes to widen and it to stop.

The creature stood in front of him shaking in fear for a moment before falling to its knees before the Keyblade wielder.

"Kimahri sorry…Kimahri not mean to anger Keyblade master." The creature said as it bowed.

"Huh?" Terra replied.

"He's a Ronso…they're notoriously fanatical when it comes to anything concerning the K-e-y-b-l-a-d-e-s." Lulu answered.

"Define fanatical?" Vincent asked.

"The Ronso are probably the most pure believers in the Keyblade legends…they consider anyone who wields a Keyblade to be something of a god." Lulu replied.

"That's a Keyblade?" Tidus asked as Ven, Aqua, and Mickey each summoned their Keyblades causing the Ronso to start bowing to each of them.

"Okay…" Terra replied nervously, before helping the Ronso to his feet.

"Why were you chasing our friend?" Ven asked curiously.

"Kimahri see Machina…Machina bring Sin…Sin bring death…Kimahri destroy Machina before Sin comes." The Ronso replied as Wall-e peeked around from behind Terra.

"I guess Kimahri is his name." Aqua said.

"Yeah that's his name…he's usually quite gentile though." Yuna said as she approached.

"He's also a strong warrior." A voice said from nearby, as everyone turned to look, they saw a tall man dark haired man, dressed in red robes, sunglasses, a large corn jug hanging from his shoulder, and carrying a large sword.

"Who are you?" Terra asked.

"Auron…Sir Auron." The man replied as he approached.

"Ok what's going on?" Ven asked as Lulu began to explain.

"Kimahri is the one who brought Yuna here from her home town of Bevelle at Auron's request, and took care of her…she, became like a younger sister to Wakka and I…Tidus was already like a younger brother, and Rikku was dropped off here by her brother on his way to an Al Bhed dig site."

"What's an Al Bhed?" Aqua asked.

"ME!!" Rikku answered excitedly.

"Yes she is an Al Bhed…and my cousin." Yuna replied with a smile.

"But to explain more thoroughly…" Lulu interrupted, "…the Al Bhed are notorious salvagers of ancient Machina and are somewhat hated by a fair number of people here because they usually attract Sin with their salvaged Machina."

"But we like Rikku…she's not evil." Yuna said as she put her arm around the red head.

"Rikku is Rikku…Rikku nice Al Bhed." Kimahri said with a smile.

"So what can be done about Sin?" Vincent asked, as everyone looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

"I thought I mentioned the summoner thing?" Yuna asked.

"You did ya?" Wakka replied.

"We should probably talk about this inside where it's safer." Auron said as the group nodded and boarded the gummy ship.

After everyone had settled in the cargo bay, Yuna started to explain about the summoners.

"Ok since Sin came into being the only way to stop him was by using summoners to summon beings known as Aeons to fight him. It also kills the summoner who embarks on the journey. But somehow Sin keeps coming back, but no one knows when he's going to return, these periods are called the Calms." Yuna explained.

"And Yuna has all of the Aeons already." Auron added.

"Yep we just stopped in Besaid before we headed off to fight Sin." Rikku added.

"Really?!" Lulu asked surprised, "You're a summoner now?"

"Yep…and Tidus, Wakka, Rikku, Kimahri, and Auron are my guardians." Yuna replied as Lulu turned to Ven.

"We need to help her Ven." She said.

"Yeah and that's part of our mission." Ven said as the Spirans arched an eyebrow.

"What mission mon?" Wakka asked.

"I can't go into great detail but we are here to help you defeat Sin, after that we need to go to the ruins of a city called Zanarkand." Ven answered.

"You can do both at once actually." Yuna replied.

"Really?" Aerith asked.

"Every successful pilgrimage ends in Zanarkand where Sin is defeated each time by the summoners." Yuna answered.

"Then perhaps our Keyblades will help you out." Aqua said as she summoned her Keyblade and stood up, "Count me in."

"Me too." Terra said.

"Ditto." Ven added.

"Count me in Pal." Mickey added.

"I ain't stayin' where there's no action this time…" Cid said grabbing his spear, "I'ma goin' too."

"You're going to need me to interpret those ruins." Aerith said as she grabbed a long metal pole.

"What about Wall-e?" Aqua asked as the little robot perked up.

"_Wwwallee?" _he chirped.

"I don't know, he may draw Sin out ya?" Wakka said concerned.

"He's still part of our team." Aqua replied.

"I guess that means I stay behind with the gummy ship?" Vincent asked.

"You don't have to…" Cid replied, "…It has an automatic recall system, all I gotta do is press this button on my watch and she'll come flying like that." He said as he snapped his fingers.

"What about Zack?" Terra asked.

"Like I said…I'll stay here." Vincent answered, "I don't mind."

"Ok then just don't let Zack eat any sweets." Terra replied as Vincent gave a smile and a nod.

"Then it's settled, we're off to Zanarkand." Yuna said with a smile.

* * *

**1 day later…in the Zanarkand Ruins…**

"How long must we wait captain? The men are getting restless" Scroop asked.

"Until our employer get's here." Silver replied as he glanced over towards AUTO standing in a small clearing.

They had landed in a number of small solar powered dinghies and were in the middle of the ruined city.

"I hope he gets here soon…this place gives me the creeps." Scroop hissed.

"Aye lad I agree…but whatever the master says…we do." Silver replied.

"What's so important on that cursed data disk anyway?" Scroop hissed again.

"I wish I knew but the bot swiped the disk the second his master left." Silver grumbled.

"Perhaps it's gold or treasure." Scroop wondered.

"Nothing is compared to Flint's trove." Silver replied as his mechanical hand morphed into a gun.

"But one thing is certain…whatever is on that disk must be very valuable for the master to offer the map in exchange for it." Silver added.

At the moment mutiny was a semi-popular thought in his cyborg mind.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Yuna and her guardians had traveled from Besaid to a beach close to Zanarkand via gummy ship and took to walking the rest of the way while Vincent stayed behind with Zack and M-O.

They were currently coming down a hill near the ruined gates to the city. (Me: Don't flame!! Idk wth the place looks like!!)

Wall-e had taken to putting someone between him and Kimahri, out of fear of the large Ronso.

"So you're small compared to most Ronso?! I find that hard to believe big guy." Aqua said to Kimahri.

"Kimahri called runt by taller Ronso…Kimahri don't care…Kimahri protect Yuna…Aqua's Keyblade protect Yuna…Aqua is friend." Kimahri replied earning a smile from the blue haired woman.

"Thanks big guy." She replied.

"Why does Aqua have blue hair?" Kimahri asked after a while causing Ven and Lulu to snicker.

"Yeah why do you have blue hair?" Rikku asked.

"Would you believe it's natural?" Aqua asked.

"No." Terra, Cid, and Rikku, replied in unison.

"Behold the awesome blueness of my hair's roots." Aqua said as she allowed Rikku to look.

"Wow it really is blue." Rikku said as she turned back around.

"Let me see!" Terra said as he yanked Aqua around to see earning him a slap from the latter.

"Ask politely next time rock head." Aqua fussed at the man as she straightened her hair.

"Rock head?!" Terra replied.

"Duh…Knight of the land." Aqua replied as Kimahri looked at Terra with keen interest.

"Knight of Land?!" he asked.

"Uh yeah…" Terra replied, "…that's what the wizard said I was…the Knight of the Land."

"Terra no normal Knight…Terra is Kingdom Knight of Land." The Ronso deduced.

"Aqua is Kingdom Knight of Sea…Ven is Kingdom Knight of Sky…Kimahri not worthy." The Ronso said as the five Spirans (Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, Wakka, and Auron) gave him and the three aforementioned knights strange looks.

"What about Mickey? He's got a Keyblade." Ven asked.

"Mickey no Knight…but Mickey protect Yuna and is kind…Mickey is friend." The Ronso replied.

"Whoa would you look at this place!" Tidus said as they reached the gates.

"Whatever happened here got really ugly." Aqua added.

"Sin happened." Wakka said as he shot an ugly glare at Wall-e.

"What's wrong with Wall-e pal?" Mickey asked the Blitzball player.

"He's a Machina ya? My brudda got killed by Sin for using a Machina weapon." Wakka replied.

"That doesn't mean all Machina are bad…Wall-e is a good friend and wouldn't hurt a fly." Mickey said as Wall-e rolled up next to him.

"_Miiickeyyyy" _Wall-e chirped as he hugged the mouse.

"Hey whaddya know he says more than just his name and Ta-dah." Aqua said with a laugh as Auron quickly held up a hand to silence them.

"Quiet…" the man said, "…I hear something."

They stood still for a while, and all that could be heard was the faint sound of the wind, the soft whirring of Wall-e's servos as he looked around, and a few pieces of rubble falling to the ground off in the distance.

"What is it?" Yuna asked as everyone drew/summoned their weapons.

"Someone else is here in the city…have that Machina stop moving for a moment." Auron replied as Wall-e compacted into his box shape.

Auron listened hard as he heard a faint mechanical whirring noise off in the distance.

"Whoever else is here has a Machina with them…perhaps more than one." Auron said as the group looked concerned and Terra began getting that strange feeling in his gut again.

"Psst…Ven I'm getting that strange feeling again." Terra whispered.

"You mean like back when we were on the Axiom?" Ven whispered back.

"Yeah exactly." Terra replied as they began moving forward again.

"So where do we need to look Aerith?" Mickey asked the Cetra.

"I believe that the ruins were beneath Zanarkand and if we can find a passage beneath it then perhaps we can find some of the answers we seek." Aerith said as Auron quickly clamped her mouth shut and calmly shushed her.

Suddenly a gun went off and a blue bolt of energy flew towards Lulu only to be deflected by Ven's Keyblade.

"Well, well, well, what have we here boys?" a somewhat heavy set man with a mechanical left arm, eye, and leg said as he and a multitude of monster like beings carrying swords and bayonet like rifles emerged from the rubble, surrounding the group.

"Who are you guys?" Tidus asked.

"Don't bother asking Tidus…I know who they are…" Terra said as he looked at the cyborg, "…He's Captain John Silver, one of the most notorious space pirates in the known universe."

"Ye've done your homework lad but ye see we're not here for you or ye friends…we're just here to meet a friend of ours." Silver said with his gun arm aimed directly at the group.

"_Correction…Terra is a threat…Terra must be terminated." _An all too familiar monotone mechanical voice said as Ven, Terra, Aqua, Aerith, and Wall-e's eyes widened.

"It can't be…AUTO WHERE ARE YOU?!" Terra yelled as a slight whirring noise was heard and a large mechanical spider-like machine appeared with an all too familiar robot attached to it.

"_Greetings Terra." _AUTO replied.

"Another Machina?!" Wakka asked.

"I thought I had you re-directed." Terra asked the machine.

"_I was reprogrammed with a new set of directives…Directive A-1-13 no longer exists…but is no longer necessary."_ AUTO replied as the three Kingdom Knights looked at each other with a since of dread.

"Why isn't it necessary?" Terra asked the rogue robot knowing he would probably hate the answer.

"_I still possess the information sought after by Directive A-1-13…and am currently awaiting the arrival of my Master User for information to be transferred."_ AUTO replied as the three knight's hearts sank and Cid stealth fully activated the gummy ship's recall button.

"What is that thing talking about?" Rikku asked.

"That piece of scrap is a spy for our enemy…he knows everything about us, our mission, and where our families are hiding." Ven said as Lulu looked at him with a panicked expression.

"You can't be serious Ven…he knows where they are?!" Lulu asked.

"I'm afraid so." Aqua replied.

"How did he find out?" Lulu asked as Terra held up the inactive T&L device.

"This is how…he had his minion bot plant it in my jacket and subsequently spied on a conversation I had with Aerith." Terra answered as Auron and Cid looked towards the city gates and spotted something on the horizon.

"Wakka…that Machina is one you can hate." Aqua added as Kimahri snarled.

"Big Machina bad?!" he asked.

"Incredibly bad." Aqua answered as the Ronzo started to growl.

"Big Machina enemy of Yuna…Big Machina enemy of Knights… Kimahri break Big Machina." Kimahri said as the pirates raised their weapons at the Ronzo.

"Uh guys…I think that's the least of our worries." Cid said as everyone, Pirates included, looked up at the gates and gazed in fear at what they saw…

It was a massive, mile long, scaled beast flying straight towards the city.

"It's S-Sin." Tidus said as the terrifying beast of Spira headed towards them.

* * *

**End Chapter 12.**


	13. Sin of the World

"Yuna I think now is a good time for those Aeons!" Tidus said as Sin approached.

"_ABORT ABORT ABORT!!" _AUTO repeated as the Pirates all turned tail and ran…or so it appeared.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE AUTO!!" Terra yelled as he intercepted the robot and grabbed a hold of his wheel, re-starting the robot rodeo.

In the meantime, a glowing, bikini clad woman appeared in a bright flash of light, it was Yunalesca the first summoner to ever defeat Sin.

"_Yuna, daughter of Braska, choose a guardian to be the Final Aeon." _Yunalesca commanded as Mickey suddenly had a vision…

A large glowing purple eye like-being within Sin controlling it like a puppeteer would a puppet.

"Wait!!" Mickey said before Yuna could answer.

"I think Sin is more than just a beast…" Mickey said as Yunalesca scowled, "…I think it's being controlled by something inside of it."

"_Yuna…you cannot afford to wait any longer I must know now!" _Yunalesca said with a hint of anger.

"But how can we get into Sin?" Ven asked as Cid smirked and pointed into the air.

"There's your answer!" Cid yelled as the gummy ship flew in from behind Sin, firing at the beast as it flew past and continued dodging its attacks.

"_YUNA!! It is the only way!"_ Yunalesca bellowed but Yuna remained silent in thought.

"Yuna think of this…" Mickey said to the summoner, "…if this is the only way to defeat Sin…why hasn't he been defeated for good?"

This sparked something in Yuna's mind.

"Yunalesca! Why is it that this is the only way to defeat Sin and yet he still returns huh?" Yuna challenged, "Why is it that every summoner must give their life force for the Final Aeon? Why is it that the Final Aeon never works?"

Yunalesca was enraged now.

"And how is it that you know this and yet you allow it to occur every time a summoner comes to defeat Sin?" Yuna challenged.

"_BECAUSE HE'S MY FATHER!!"_ Yunalesca blurted out.

"You mean that Sin is really Yu Yevon?!" Yuna asked surprised.

"_You are half correct child…my father created Sin as a guardian while he created a new Zanarkand but something went wrong, he went mad and became a part of Sin."_ Yunalesca answered mellower than before.

"Who's Yu Yevon?" Aqua asked Tidus.

"Yu Yevon was probably the greatest summoner in history; he led the people of Zanarkand against the Machina-using, Bevelle." Tidus answered.

"That probably explains why Sin hates machinery so much." Cid added.

"Is there any way to stop Sin permanently?" Yuna asked as Yunalesca paused.

"_Ask your friend the mouse…he appears to know the answers…I know the people of Spira deserve not having Sin around to hunt down the Machina but like the Machina that travels with you…there is such a thing as good Machina."_ Yunalesca said as she started to fade.

"_I hope to see my father in Farplane soon."_ Yunalesca said as she faded away completely.

"We need to get into Sin somehow." Yuna said as she turned to Mickey, who then turned to Cid.

"VINCENT WE NEED PICK UP!!" Cid yelled into his watch, and the gummy ship fired off a couple of large missiles at the beast before coming in for a landing.

"Yuna we're with you all the way…TERRA QUIT FOOLING AROUND AND COME ON!!" Ven said as Terra was still grappling with AUTO.

"LOVE TO…CAN'T…LET…GO!!" Terra replied as Kimahri ran over, leapt into the air, and came down on the robot, dealing a powerful blow with his lance, sending the machine to the ground.

"Kimahri smash Big Machina!" the Ronso yelled as Terra gave a nod to him and ran to join his fellow Knights.

But AUTO wasn't down for long. The machine quickly climbed up and turned to face the Ronso warrior.

* * *

Vincent activated the repulsors and opened the rear hatch as the Knights, Yuna, Tidus, Lulu, and Auron jumped aboard.

"Glad you could make it to the party!" Zack said as Cid took the helm from Vincent.

"Your nephew is quite a gunner." Vincent said to Terra as they headed for a cargo elevator that would take them to the roof of the gummy ship.

"I hit something on both sides of Sin…I don't know what but he stopped attacking." Vincent said as everyone piled into the elevator.

"I think you took down his outer-defenses…now we just need to get inside of him and destroy Yu Yevon, once and for all." Yuna said as the elevator started moving upwards and the roof opened.

"Ok then how do we get inside of him?" Lulu asked as the Keyblades started to glow slightly and Sin opened his mouth with mighty roar.

As he did so, everyone saw at the back of his throat…

"A KEYHOLE!!" the knights shouted and instinctively aimed their Keyblades towards each other.

A circle of magic appeared around the end of each Keyblade and the three beams became one single beam and streaked towards Sin's mouth hitting the keyhole in a blaze of light.

On Sins head the image that Mickey saw in his vision appeared but all the Spirans recognized the image.

"Yu Yevon?!" they said in unison.

The eye started to glow brighter and fired a beam towards Yuna which Tidus heroically jumped in front of the beam and took the full force of it…but as he flopped onto the deck his body wasn't that of a person in their early to mid twenties…but that of a five year old child.

"TIDUS!!" she yelled as she gazed at the unconscious five year old.

"Now it's personal!" Aqua said as in a single burst of strength she leapt forward and flew a fair distance before reaching Yu Yevon's head and started swinging the Keyblade at it furiously.

Everyone looked to see Ven holding his Keyblade vertical and his eyes shut…he was using his elemental power over the sky to keep Aqua aloft.

"My turn." Terra said as he held the Keyblade behind him and the Keyblade began to glow a bright red as he then suddenly flew off towards the beast and delivered a smashing blow to Yevon's head.

But it wasn't enough as Yevon still wouldn't buckle.

* * *

Kimahri dodged a strike from one of AUTOs four legs as the robot attacked.

"_I must follow my directives…resistance is futile." _AUTO said as the Ronso dodged or blocked every strike.

Rikku, Mickey, Wakka, Aerith, and Wall-e were rushing to help the Ronso but as they approached a series of blue energy blasts flew towards them but missed…the pirates were back.

"Keep firing ye space bats!!" Silver said as his arm transformed into a gun and started taking pot shots at the five on the ground.

As he ran for cover Wall-e saw Kimahri struggling with AUTO and quickly doubled back while skillfully dodging strikes from the trigger happy pirates.

"What's the lil Machina doing ya?!" Wakka asked as Aerith figured it out.

"He's helping Kimahri!!" Aerith answered as from out of nowhere bullets started to rain down on the pirates.

As the four looked up they saw Vincent riding an air board down to the ground and the bottom mounted gun turrets on the gummy ship firing at the Pirates hiding in the ruins…courtesy of Zack.

Vincent skillfully deflected blasts with the air board as he fired off round after round at the pirates until he reached the ground…then he ran for cover and continued firing.

Aerith then quickly entered a praying stance and before you knew it rain began to fall from the sky (Great Gospel).

Silver's eye shorted out…followed by his arm…then leg.

"Dag Blast it!!" the pirate cursed, "SCROOP Finish them!!"

The monster like pirate leapt out towards the four behind a fallen pillar but Mickey was ready and ducked as the beast overshot and landed behind him. Mickey leapt up on Scroop's back and fired a shot of blizzard magic at the back of his head.

"DAGH!!" he yelled as the ice hit him and Mickey grabbed his hat and pulled it over the spider's large yellow eyes.

Meanwhile Wakka hurled the Blitzball under his arm at a line of pirates attempting to snipe poor Wall-e, and knocked them clean off the wall they were sniping from.

Rikku, who found herself surrounded quickly, held up her right fist and a steal claw like weapon folded over her hand as she started swinging it…either making a very large scar or knocking the aggressors plum out.

Aerith was using the poll she had picked up on the gummy ship to knock pirate after pirate away.

"Are ye boys or are ye MEN?!" Silver yelled as he watched the battle from his good eye and limped to a nearby dinghy.

Wall-e finally made it to Kimahri just as AUTO had him pinned.

"_Executing Directive…" _AUTO said as a laser cannon extended from the arm pinning the Ronso.

Wall-e reached in his cavity and pulled out a hubcap and hurled it at AUTO's head which met with a clang.

AUTO stared at the small robot for a second before turning the gun on him.

Wall-e dodged electric blue blasts of energy as Kimahri quickly grabbed his lance and with one great swing cut the laser off its mount.

AUTO stared at the empty mounting as the Ronso quickly rammed the spear into the spider torso causing a panel to open and a data disk to fall out.

Wall-e recognized the disk and quickly grabbed it and threw it in his cavity. He couldn't compact it until the compacter was full and quickly scooped up AUTO's broken gun, as well as a few dropped pirate pistols lying around and compacted it into a garbage block.

"_Objective failed!! Data Disk destroyed!!" _AUTO said as he kicked the Ronso away and leapt into the air where rocket boosters attached to the bottom of his feet ignited and catapulted the robot into space.

* * *

"Yuna…" Lulu said, "…You think any of the Aeons could help us?"

"No." Auron answered, "He's only been brought to the outer layer of Sin's shell…and those two are only beating him back inside…and any Aeons would just wind up possessed by Yevon."

As soon as the words left Auron's mouth a great gust of wind, commanded by Ven, pulled the two knights back towards the gummy ship.

"What's going on?" Terra asked.

"Yeah we were kicking his butt!!" Aqua added.

"We have to destroy him from the inside!!" Ven answered.

"CID fire everything you've got!!" Aqua yelled as Terra quickly pulled the unconscious Tidus back into the gummy ship.

"Even my laser?!" Cid asked from the console.

"EVERYTHING CID!!" Aqua yelled back.

"Ok…Imma Firin Mah Laser!!" Cid replied as Zack burst out laughing. (See if you get it.)

Cid started to power the weapons but Ven stopped him.

Yu Yevon then emerged from Sins mouth.

"There he is FIRE!!" Aqua shouted but again Ven stopped Cid from firing.

"He's immune to technology!" Lulu said as Auron came up with an idea.

"Send me…" Auron said as they all looked at him strangely, "…send me into him, I can do it."

"But…you may die…" Yuna said as Auron turned towards her.

"I don't mind…do it…I'm ready." Auron replied.

"We will never forget you Auron." Yuna said as the others nodded.

"And don't you dare forget about us…wherever you go." Ven added.

"We will meet again my friends…one way or another." Auron said with a smile before Terra shouted.

"LOOK!!"

Yevon had started charging his youth ray again.

"DO IT NOW!!" Auron said as he turned towards her, and with all her might and power used her magic to hurl him straight towards Sin's open mouth.

"This is your world now." Auron said peacefully as he swung his sword back and then swung it forward as it cut through Yu Yevon.

Yu Yevon screamed in pain as he exploded in a blast that could be seen for miles, taking himself, Sin…and Auron…with him.

Everyone paused as they saw the massive explosion.

"They did it!!" Rikku yelled as she jumped for joy.

Instantly Silver's cybernetic appendages came back on line. He put his mechanical index finger and thumb together and blew into his disk like fingers making a shrill whistling noise.

"BOYS LET'S SHOVE OFF QUICKLY!!" Silver yelled as the Pirates started to run away towards their dinghies.

"We'll meet again you'll see!!" Silver yelled as they soared off into the stars.

* * *

The gummy ship landed as Ven carried an unconscious Tidus in his arms.

"You did it we won…we brought the eternal calm to Spira!!" Rikku said excitedly as she approached with the others close behind.

"But at what cost Rikku?" Yuna said as she hung her head.

"W-where's Auron?" Mickey asked nervously.

"He's…" Yuna tried to say but couldn't…unfortunately her actions spoke louder than words.

"He's dead?" Vincent asked.

"He sacrificed himself to save Spira." Lulu said as she gently rubbed the unconscious Tidus's five year old hair.

"What happened to Tidus ya?" Wakka asked.

"Yevon hit him with some kind of youth spell…it was meant for Yuna but he took the hit himself." Terra answered.

Aerith lowered her head and summoned the Great Gospel again, causing it to rain once more…and wherever the rain landed on the soil…fresh grass and flowers started to grow before everyone's eyes.

Yuna then noticed a flower near what appeared to be a piece of discarded metal. As she approached she noticed it was no piece of metal…it was Auron's sword, and the flower growing under it was a bright red with a black stem.

She had never seen such a flower before. She knelt down as a few of the others gathered around her.

"Legends say that for every guardian lost on a successful pilgrimage…a new species of flower blooms in their honor. This shall be known as the Auron Rose." Yuna declared as everyone bowed their heads in respect.

* * *

**End Chapter 13.**

I seem to have a knack for ending chapters on a sad note…but as we all know Auron had to die to be brought back in KH2...plus we might just see him again later on in the story.


	14. The Ruins within the Ruins

After a memorial service was held for Auron, Aerith had turned her attention to looking for an entry way to the Cetra ruins.

As she searched Wall-e was busy carrying rubble away.

Kimahri then approached the small robot.

"Wall-e save Kimahri…Kimahri surprised…Wall-e not evil Machina…Wall-e friend." The Ronso said with a smile as the little robot looked up with a happy expression.

"_Kim…ah…ri"_ Wall-e replied as he hugged the Ronso's knee cap.

"Kimahri owe Wall-e life…Kimahri go with you and Kingdom Knights." He said as he picked up the robot and carried him off towards where Wall-e had been clearing debris away.

* * *

Yuna was sitting on the ramp to the gummy ship as Zack came waltzing out.

"Sorry about your friend." Zack said as he sat down next to her.

"Thanks…" Yuna replied, "…Now I don't know what to do, I mean it's not going to be the same without Tidus around Besaid."

Zack remained silent.

"You want to know what's even stranger." Yuna asked, as Zack nodded, "I can still feel my connection to the Aeons…but then again they are supposed to stay with the summoner until he or she dies."

This gave Zack an idea.

"Hey maybe you can go with these guys I mean they're going to need all the help they can get." Zack said as Yuna looked at him with an interested eyebrow.

"What are they after anyway?" Yuna asked but before Zack could answer he noticed Terra standing in front of him with his arms crossed.

"Uh…nothing." Zack replied as he fell silent and Terra waved a finger at him before heading off to help Aerith.

"Sheesh what's his problem?" Rikku asked as she passed the frumpy Terra.

"He's my uncle." Zack replied as Rikku nodded understandably and plopped down next to him.

"So Yunie what are you going to do now that you've saved the world?!" Rikku asked as if she were a game show announcer.

"I don't know yet." (Needle scratch).

"Well that's no fun." Rikku said as she mocked disappointment, before she turned to Zack.

"Hey you wanna learn to speak Al Bhed?!" she asked as the boy looked at her with intrest.

* * *

Meanwhile Aerith had found a small handful of Cetra glyphs near what was formerly a staircase leading down into the ground.

"Anything?" Aqua asked curiously as she handed Aerith a small brush to wipe the sand and dirt away.

"Nothing that makes any sense." Aerith replied as Wall-e rolled up waiting for more debris to move.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to move those rocks out of the way." Aerith said as she climbed to her feet and walked out of the small pit like staircase.

"Hey Rocky!!" Aqua called to Terra, "We need some rocks moved you think you could help?"

"Don't call me Rocky." Terra said as he summoned his Keyblade and aimed it at the rocks…nothing happened.

"Huh?" Terra wondered as he aimed the Keyblade at the rocks again but still nothing happened.

"Ok what's going on?" He asked.

"I don't think your powers work like that." Aerith said as Kimahri shrugged, moved down into the pit and grabbed the largest rock. With one mighty pull the rock gave way and the Ronso carried the rock out of the pit.

"Well…" Aqua said as the other three stood wide eyed, "…that's one way to do it."

Aerith headed inside with a flashlight, the tunnel was very short but still had plenty of glyphs and markings in it.

"Fascinating." Aerith said as she examined the glyph markings.

"What's it say?" Terra asked.

"Just a second." She replied and continued down where a large glyph in the shape of a heart with a key hole was found between a sun and a strange looking black heart shaped symbol with a red X in the center.

"It says...Light of heart shall seek, dark of heart shall find, light of heart protect, and dark of heart refined…it's a riddle…I think." Aerith replied.

"Great…riddles…I hate riddles." Terra said as he looked towards the floor, and then noticed something.

"Hello…what have we here?" Terra said as he leaned down to find a bag of discarded tools.

"Someone has definitely been here recently…the marks on these tools say they were made in…someplace called Twilight Town." Terra asked confused as Mickey appeared.

"Twilight Town…that's where Yen Sid's tower is." Mickey said as he, Terra, and Aqua, reached the same conclusion…

"THE APPRENTICE!!" they said in unison as Aerith turned back to the glyphs.

"So Xehanort was here recently." Aqua said as Mickey nodded.

"Yep…but it might also explain how Sin awoke." Mickey said as the two arched an eyebrow.

"Whoever enters Zanarkand during the calm…" Lulu said as she approached, "…awakens Sin and ends the Calm."

"And so when Xehanort came here he awoke Sin." Aqua deduced as Aerith found something.

"That's interesting…" she said.

"What?" Terra asked.

"It also says something about a journal…the Sheppard's journal?" Aerith translates as she sees an orange swirl pattern.

"A journal?" Terra asks.

"The Sheppard's journal is a book that holds a vital clue as to how to find Kingdom Hearts…" Aerith answered, "…but there's a problem."

"The book has been lost for ages." Aqua answered as Aerith nodded.

"Any idea where to start looking?" Ven asked as he approached.

"Yes and No…" Aerith answered, "…I heard that a space pirate found it and hid it amongst his stash of loot over a millennia ago."

"Ok we're looking for a dead space pirate's stash?" Aqua asked.

"Wait a second…" Terra interrupted, "…you think it was Flint don't you?"

Aerith nodded.

"Who's Flint?" Ven asked.

"Captain Flint…the most notorious space pirate in history…legend has it that Flint's trove is the loot of a thousand worlds." Terra explained.

"So now this is a treasure hunt huh?" Aqua asked eagerly.

"Down Aqua…" Ven warned, "…I know you and your notoriety for 'get-rich-quick schemes."

"You stick around anyways." Aqua taunted.

"But how do we find Flint's trove?" Aerith asked.

"Simple…" Vincent said as he appeared, "…we ask the one person who has done the most research into finding the trove…Dr. Benjamin Franklin Gates."

"So…Montressor Spaceport?" Terra asked as Vincent nodded.

"Let me guess…that's where we can find him huh?" Aqua asked as Terra and Vincent nodded.

* * *

An hour later everyone piled on board the gummy ship, after Aerith had taken some pictures of the Cetra glyphs in the tunnel, and Kimahri had covered the entrance back up with more debris.

"So what happens to Tidus? I mean he's still unconscious and he's still a five year old ya?" Wakka asked.

"I'll take him back with me…he'll be safe there." Lulu said with the unconscious boy in her lap as Ven nodded.

"But will he remember what happened?" Aerith asked.

"No he will not…" a familiar voice answered and in a flash of blue light stood the mighty wizard once more.

"Master Yen Sid." The knights said in unison.

"Tidus will not recover from his youthful state nor remember anything that happened…" the wizard said, "…Yu Yevon has wiped his memory of all but his own basic knowledge."

"So…he only knows his name…and nothing else?" Lulu asked as the wizard nodded.

"Where exactly will you take him Lulu?" Wakka asked again.

"Back to mine and Ven's home." Lulu answered without giving away too much.

"If you wish to join him Wakka I can cast a similar spell upon you as well." The wizard said.

"Won't I forget who I am ya?" Wakka asked.

"No…you will retain your memories perfectly, but you will look five years old is all." Yen Sid answered.

"Could you make it six? Then I can be the big brudda ya?" Wakka asked as everyone gave a slight chuckle.

"You're serious about this aren't you Wakka?" Yuna asked earning a nod from the Blitzball player.

"Tidus is like a lil' brudda to me ya? I'd to anything to protect him." Wakka said with a smile.

"Ok then but remember…you don't call me by my first name." Lulu said with a smirk and Wakka nodded.

"If it is to be done it must be done fast…the living hallucination I cast on the Islands will end soon and now is the time to go." Yen Sid replied as Wakka stood at attention.

"Hit me with the magic brudda." Wakka said as the wizard's hat glowed a bright blue and in a flash of light Wakka was in his six year old body.

"How do I look?" Wakka asked with a noticeably younger voice.

"Kind of cute Wakka." Rikku said with a laugh as Yen Sid gave a knowing nod to Ven and Lulu.

"I guess it's that time again…" Ven said reluctantly as he and Lulu stood up to face each other.

"I guess it is…" Lulu replied as she handed Tidus to Yuna for a moment and waved her arms causing her clothes to transform back into her black shirt and blue jeans.

"Keep the light on for me…" Ven said as they kissed and everyone turned away to provide some privacy.

"I will…and remember what you promised me." Lulu said as she took Tidus back into her arms.

"That I'll come back to you, even if it takes an eternity." Ven answered as another tear ran down both their faces.

"Goodbye Yuna…Rikku…Kimahri…may Spira smile upon you all forever." Lulu said to her friends as the girls came forward and group hugged.

"Thanks for your help Lu." Yuna said as they released each other.

"Yeah and don't forget about us." Rikku said without her trademark optimism and energy.

"Never in all of eternity." Lulu replied.

"Kimahri hate goodbyes…Lulu friend…but Lulu needed elsewhere…Kimahri understands" The Ronso said with an understanding nod.

Lulu nodded back before turning to the wizard.

"Ok…I'm ready." She said as Wakka grabbed a hold of her arm. The Wizard's hat glowed bright blue again and in a flash of white light, Lulu, Tidus, and Wakka were gone.

"So…do we need to drop you three off at Besaid?" Ven asked.

"What? No way?" Yuna said as she turned to him.

"Huh?" Aqua asked.

"There's nothing for us now back there, since Tidus and Wakka are gone and the pilgrimage is over." Yuna answered.

"Yeah…and we thought the least we could do was help you guys out for helping us." Rikku said excitedly.

"Zack?!" Terra asked the ten year old sitting next to him.

"I didn't say anything." He defended.

"He didn't…" Yuna added, "…but Cid did."

"Augh CID!!" the trio said angrily.

"What was I supposed to do?" Cid argued.

"Oh I don't know how about CLAM UP?!" Aqua shouted as everyone started dissing him.

"ENOUGH!!" Yen Sid bellowed as he closed his eyes.

"Yuna and Rikku's fates are already intertwined with the three of yours." Yen Sid said as he opened his eyes, "They are destined to help you in your quest."

"What about Kimahri?" Ven asked.

"Kimahri owe life to Wall-e…Kimahri want to help Kingdom Knights…Kimahri stay." Kimahri replied.

"Wall-e?!" Terra asked as said robot rolled up next to the Ronso.

"_Kim…ah…ri." _Wall-e replied.

"Well I guess that settles it…Kamahri's coming along too." Ven answered.

"I just hope he doesn't eat us outta house at home ya know?" Cid said.

"Yeah we're going to need to find more rooms for anyone else we want to bring along." Aqua said as Cid silently dreaded the thought of more people.

"I must request that you try to keep the number of people who know about this to as bare a minimum as possible." Yen Sid said as Terra nodded.

"Yeah but if AUTO is still functioning then that means there is already at least one person who knows, if not more." He said.

"But what do we do then…do we go after him or do we go to Montressor spaceport and hunt down Flint's trove and the Sheppard's journal?" Aerith asked.

"AUTO will be doing his best to try and contact his master with the information…but he cannot risk it being leaked out to the worlds, then it would make both yours and his jobs harder, and make it where neither of you can hide as easily." Yen Sid reassured.

"He probably will try and get his accomplice to assist him…whoever he is." Terra said as the others nodded.

"More than that, he's got Silver and his pirates helping him out." Vincent added.

"True…and with AUTO's flying expertise he's going to be one tough catch."Terra said.

"Your best bet is to go to the spaceport to find this expert on Flint." Yen Sid said as his hat started to glow again.

"I will assist you and return to Twilight Town in an effort to find out more of where my apprentice has been." Yen Sid said as he vanished in a blue flash of light.

"Cid…from where we are which comes first? Midgar or Montressor?" Terra asked.

"Midgar…why?" Cid replied.

"We have to drop someone off real quick." Terra said as Zack started doing his _"I'm gonna be a SOLDIER."_ Dance again.

"And I have a call to make." Vincent said as he headed for his room.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Back on the pirate ship.

"Ya cowardly machine…ya didn't even keep the disk intact." Silver cursed at the damaged machine.

"_Their presence was not expected…an uncalculated variable…" _AUTO replied.

"I'll show you uncalculated you piece of scrap metal." Silver said as he raised his gun arm but was stopped by the holo-phone's activation.

"_STOP!!" _The figure on the screen said, _"You held up your end of the bargain despite your failure…and therefore you shall receive your prize…take as long as you want to get there…but it can be found on display in the home of one Benjamin Franklin Gates."_

"Gates…but he lives in Montressor Spaceport there's no way we can get there undetected." Silver replied.

"_Not for a certain robot."_ The visage replied as AUTO gave a nod.

"Fine…take the helm then Mr. AUTO." Silver grumbled as the visage disappeared and AUTO headed out the door.

* * *

**End Chapter 14.**

In case you don't know already the Sheppard's journal is a plot device from another "Disney flop film," Atlantis: the lost empire, but thankfully I am ONLY including the journal.

I didn't like Atlantis.


	15. All Roads lead to Midgar

The gummy ship streaked back into Midgar's shell as Zack and Terra stood on the bridge looking out over the city from one of the view ports.

"You nervous?" Terra asked the fidgeting ten year old next to him as they stared out the window.

"A little." Zack replied…but his true emotions were as clear as a bell.

"Uh-huh." Terra responded knowingly.

"Hey relax Zack…you'll be a great SOLDIER." Ven said as he entered the bridge followed by Rikku.

"Yeah you got skillz!" Rikku added enthusiastically.

"T-thanks Rikku." Zack replied with a slight blush…Terra and Ven snickered slightly as they glanced at each other knowingly…Zack had a crush on Rikku.

Suddenly the radio clicked on…

"Midgar ATC to Fahrenheit..."

Cid's eyes boggled as he grabbed the radio, "…Fahrenheit to Midgar ATC, go ahead."

"Fahrenheit, come around to vector zero one Niner…you have been granted clearance for landing at landing station Zero Delta Alpha." The voice on the other side replied.

"Fahrenheit to Midgar ATC…are you serious?!" Cid asked dumbfounded.

"Affirmative Fahrenheit…Cid…it's not a trap I promise you." A female voice replied as Cid smirked.

"Shera that you?" he asked

"Yes sir Captain." The woman replied.

"Well why didn't you say so…Fahrenheit coming in for a landing." Cid said as the gummy ship pulled around.

"Wow anything Zero in Midgar is important…that's the BNL headquarters." Terra said as the gummy ship approached a narrow landing platform and a cargo ramp extended to the roof of the ship.

A few moments later our heroes emerged on the roof and Zack paled at what he saw.

"Look uncle Terra it's, it's…him." He said as on the cargo ramp stood Cloud in a red 2nd class SOLDIER uniform standing next to none other than Angeal Hewley himself, both with a smile on their faces.

Standing next to them was a woman in a white lab coat with brown hair and glasses, whom Cid quickly ran over to and started conversing with...apperently this was Shera.

"Vincent!" Angeal shouted with a wave as Vincent gave a salute back.

"And you must be Zack…" Angeal said as he knelt down to Zack's level, "…my latest pupil Cloud says you're really eager to join SOLDIER."

"Oh yes sir!" Zack replied as he stood at attention.

"Well I've seen your grades, your performance levels at school, and I believe that you would make a fine addition to SOLDIER." Angeal replied as Zack smiled and saluted simultaneously.

"I won't let you down sir." Zack said as Angeal nodded.

"I doubt you will." He replied as he stood back up and faced Terra.

"And you must be his uncle Terra…" Angeal said as he shook Terra's hand, "…well I must say that any friend of Vincent's is a friend of mine."

"I suspected that Vincent had a hand in this." Terra said as he gave the Turk a look as the latter rocked on his heels looking innocent.

Angeal put his arm around Terra and led him away from the others.

"Terra I don't mind telling you that it wasn't Vincent's suggestion…but something I felt had to be done." Angeal said to the man.

"I don't mean to pry sir but…what do you mean?" Terra asked.

Angeal looked around for a moment.

"I have been informed by a mutual friend about what you are and about your mission." Angeal said as Terra looked towards Vincent.

"It's not Vince…it's a different friend." Angeal added.

"Who?" Terra asked.

"I'll give you a hint…he's the one who ordered you kidnapped." Angeal said as realization swept over Terra's face.

"Master Yen Sid?!" Terra whispered as Angeal nodded.

"Yes…I owe him my life…back when I was a third class…I was injured while on a mission, and Yen Sid saved my life, and when he appeared to me a while ago he told me all about you, your mission, and that Zack needed to become a SOLDIER." Angeal explained.

"Then you should know something…" Terra said as they both looked around.

"AUTO the automatic pilot for the Axiom…is a spy for our enemy." Terra said as Angeal's eyes widened.

"Are you certain?" He asked.

"Ask any one of my friends there…and I have this…" Terra said as he held up the inactive T&L device.

"I see…" Angeal said with narrowed eyebrows.

"I thought I had him sent for re-directing but I think there's another spy in BNL." Terra added.

"Who?" the SOLDIER asked.

"I don't know…whoever AUTO was sent to be re-directed by I suppose." Terra answered.

"How do you know he never was re-directed?" Angeal asked.

"Oh he was re-directed…his intended directives were erased and replaced with a set of different directives…he just tried to kill us on Spira." Terra answered.

"Spira? How did he get there?" Angeal asked.

"John Silver." "The Pirate?" "The one and only…they ambushed us in Zanarkand." Terra replied.

"Zanarkand what were you…never mind." Angeal said, "I'll look into it…you have my word."

"Thanks and one more thing…AUTO appeared to have some four legged machine that allowed him to move around on his own outside of a starship." Terra said as Angeal remembered something.

"You know…SOLDIER is currently investigating the theft of a prototype movement section for an experimental defense robot that R&D is working on…perhaps AUTO's going rogue and the theft of the machine may be connected." Angeal said.

"I would be surprised if it wasn't." Terra said as the two headed back towards the group.

"Well Zack…" Terra said as they approached, "…make me proud…and follow Angeal and Cloud's orders."

"Yes sir." Zack replied with a salute as Aerith emerged from the gummy ship with Zack's bag.

"Goodbye Zack I'll miss you." Aerith said as she knelt down and gave the boy a hug.

"You too Miss Gainsborough." Zack replied.

"Dyga lyna pitto!" Rikku yelled from the gummy ship.

"Oui duu Rikku!" Zack yelled back as Cloud arched an eyebrow.

"Rikku?" he asked.

"Two Ks Cloud." Terra answered as Cloud nodded.

"Be good Zack." Aqua said as the boy arched an eyebrow.

"Do I have to?" Zack asked the blue haired woman.

"Well I want to say no…but the filthy look your uncle is giving me tells me to say yes." Aqua replied as Zack snickered.

"Hey uncle Terra, be sure to hold on to the Microbe Obliterator for me…and don't break it." Zack said as Terra nodded.

* * *

Soon after everyone had said their goodbyes and had all piled into the gummy ship, Terra turned to Rikku.

"Was that Al Bhed you were speaking?" Terra asked.

"Uh-huh…I said 'take care buddy' and he replied 'you too." Rikku answered.

"When did he learn Al Bhed?" Terra asked.

"Because I taught it to him on our way here." Rikku said with a smile, "He's a fast learner."

"He gets it from his mother." Terra replied with a smile.

"Really…he must get his looks and brains from your side of the family." Rikku said.

"Why the interest in me all of a sudden?" Terra asked the bouncing blond.

"Because we're going to be traveling together…and I like you." Rikku said as Terra arched a concerned eyebrow.

"Oh no, not like that." Rikku said as she realized what he was thinking, "…As a friend is all…I mean you were really nice to me back on Spira and I was wondering if there was anything more to it."

Terra paused for a moment, then sighed.

"The reason I was so nice to you is because my son has the same name as you...and it reminds me of him." Terra said as he looked at her with a sad expression.

"Really? Is he cute?" Rikku asked.

"He's five years old, of course he's cute." Terra replied with a snicker.

"Oh I thought he was like fifteen or sixteen." Rikku said with a laugh, "So he has my name?"

"Except with only one K." Terra replied as he fished in his pocket and pulled out his wallet, he then flipped through it until he reached a page with him and Riku in it.

"Wow he is pretty cute." Rikku said as she looked over his shoulder.

"Thanks." Terra replied as he then noticed that Rikku had run off.

* * *

Wall-e was busy dismantling "Fort Nibelhiem" as Zack had proclaimed it, as Rikku entered and sat down on the floor and watched intently as the little robot worked putting the fort into a single organized pile.

Once he was finished Wall-e turned to see the blond watching him…he hadn't even noticed her enter.

"Hi little Machina." She said the bot approached.

"His name's Wall-e." Ven said as he entered with a large box in his arms.

"You know…you and Aqua act funny around each other." Rikku said causing Ven to snicker as he put the box down.

"That's because we've known each other since we were teenagers." He replied as Wall-e exited to find more garbage to compact.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah we were best friends…still are." He said as Rikku smirked.

"Y meddma suna dryh dryd E pad." She muttered. (Translated: A little more than that I bet.)

"Tet E sahdeuh dryd Lulu dyikrd sa du cbayg Al Bhed?" He replied, (Translated: Did I mention that Lulu taught me to speak Al Bhed?)

"Uubc." she said innocently. (Translated: Oops)

"It's ok…Aqua and I were close..er, than we are now, but it didn't work out. We're better off as friends." Ven replied.

"Did you mention that I was your prom date?" Aqua asked from out of nowhere.

"Rumo (Hyikrdo Funt)!!" Ven shouted as he jumped into the air. (Translated: Holy (Naughty word)

"Ooh myhkiyka Ven, drana ec y sehun bnacahd!!" Rikku replied with a laugh. (Translated: language Ven, there is a minor present!!)

"Crid ib Rikku" Ven said as he turned to the blue haired woman. (Translated: Shut up Rikku)

"You were his prom date?" Rikku asked.

"Yep…poor guy was desperate and was going to call me up at the last minute…but I was already outside his door step waiting for him." Aqua replied with a smirk as Ven faked a sneeze.

"cdymgan" he sneezed causing Rikku to laugh, (Translated: Stalker).

Aqua knew they were making fun of her…but what exactly was being said was beyond her.

"What language is that?" she asked.

"Al Bhed." Rikku and Ven replied in unison.

"Well quit it." Aqua said as Ven and Rikku looked at each other mischievously.

"Good luck…" Yuna sighed as she entered, "…once Rikku finds someone who can speak fluent Al Bhed and has just as sinister a mind…she won't stop."

"Yht fryd tu oui ghuf cra vuiht uha!!" Ven said causing Rikku to giggle. (Translated: And what do you know she found one!!)

"See what I mean?" Yuna said as Rikku and Ven headed off towards the bridge.

* * *

Vincent, Mickey, Terra, Aerith, and Kimahri were on the bridge, with Cid at the controls, while discussing the mission.

"So who's this guy we're looking for again?" Cid asked.

"Benjamin Franklin Gates…his family has been searching for Flint's trove for generations." Vincent answered.

"A lot of people think he's crazy for looking for it from what I hear." Terra said.

"How so?" Aerith asked.

"Because everyone believes Flint's trove to be a myth…I mean it's been gone for over five thousand years." Terra answered.

"Kimahri confused…why are we looking for treasure?" Kimahri asked.

"It's not the treasure we're after…it's an ancient book that could lead us to Kingdom Hearts." Mickey answered.

"You believe book help find Kingdom Hearts?" Kimahri asked.

"It's ancient Cetra…so chances are it does have some information where it is." Cid replied over his shoulder.

"Ronso remember Cetra…Cetra kind…Cetra bring life to Spira…Cetra gone before Sin." Kimahri replied.

"Do the Ronso still have anything that the Cetra might have left behind?" Vincent asked.

"No…Ronso not keep Cetra things…Ronso respect Cetra privacy." He answered.

"Do you know who would?" Terra asked.

"No." Kimahri answered.

"Oh well…I guess we'll just have to follow the clues." Aerith said.

"Yeah…I just hope that we can persuade this Gates guy to help us." Terra said.

"I think Kimahri's just being there should help." Yuna said as she and Aqua entered, with M-O scrubbing the floor behind them.

"What is Tiny Machina doing?" Kimahri asked as he noticed M-O.

"Huh…oh that's M-O he's a cleaner Machina." Terra replied.

"Mo." The robot said as he continued scrubbing.

Ven and Rikku then came in shaking from suppressed laughter.

"What's so funny?" Aqua asked as Ven grabbed two of his hair spikes and bent them forward like horns.

Aqua knew what this meant and buried her head.

"Ven you…ugh." Aqua said with a groan as the Al Bhed speaking duo erupted into laughter.

"Ok spill…what's so funny?" Terra asked as Ven tried to recover.

"Ok…" Ven said as he wiped a tear from his eye, "Aqua and I were at this carnival see…it was the yearly Sea side carnival on the islands and it was our junior year in high school."

"So we go and decide to grab a bite to eat first…that was mistake number one." Ven continued, "I play it safe and get only a soda, while Aqua here gets a Hot dog, a box of French fries, fried Paopu on a stick, and a strawberry milk shake…the milkshake will come back to play later on in the story."

Aqua wanted to find a hole to bury herself in.

"I notice this and suggest that we go on the rollercoaster first…and gullible as she is…she agrees…mistake number two." Ven continues as everyone but Kimahri and Aqua was suppressing their laughter cause they knew what was coming next.

"Well the roller coaster is called the Wrath of Taurus and everyone who goes on it gets their picture taken at the bottom of that first big drop…well Aqua back then wasn't exactly fond of heights and when we got to the top of the hill…well…let me just say that there was this blue and pink yet disgusting blur in the photo." Ven finished as everyone erupted into laughter.

The only ones who weren't laughing were Kimahri…who didn't even understand what he was talking about and Aqua for obvious reasons. Wall-e and M-O were too busy to pay any attention.

"So…what about the thing with the hair?" Vincent asked as he collected himself.

"Oh that…that became our way of referencing that fateful day…the plus side of it is that I was in the forward most seat in the coaster car at the time." Ven said as everyone started laughing again.

"Dryd ec dra vihheacd drehk E ryja ajan raynt Ven!" Rikku said with a laugh. (Translated: That is the funniest thing I have ever heard Ven!)

"Dryhgc." Ven replied. (Thanks.)

"Wait a minute are you speaking Al Bhed too?" Terra asked.

"Yeah my wife is Spiran you know?" Ven replied as Terra nodded understandably.

"Well folks I hate to break up the party and all but we have arrived at Montressor Spaceport." Cid said as the group turned to look out the viewports.

What they saw amazed them, it was a massive space port city built as if in the crux of a crescent moon.

"Next stop…the residence of Benjamin Franklin Gates!" Terra said as they approached.

* * *

**End Chapter 15.**

First of all the spoken Al Bhed in the chapter is not just random letter mashing…I thank an Al Bhed translator site for that.

2nd…the story Ven told is something I came up with off the cuff.

3rd Benjamin Franklin Gates is from the National Treasure series of Disney movies.

4th I finally decided that the airship Fahrenheit from FFX shall be our heroes gummy ship...flames are accepted for this decision.


	16. The Map & the Race begins

Thirty minutes exactly after the gummy ship landed at the spaceport the three Knights, plus Yuna, Aerith, and Cid stood outside of a white Victorian style house with the letters B.F. Gates on the mail box.

"I hope the guy's home." Aqua said as they walked up the steps and Ven hit the doorbell.

"I hope Rikku doesn't make a mess of the ship." Yuna said absently.

"That makes two of us." Cid replied as he lit his cigar. They had opted to leave Mickey, Vincent, Kimahri, Rikku, and Wall-e behind at the ship while they tried to persuade Gates to help them.

A moment later a man (who is the spitting image of Nicholas Cage) answered the door in a black t-shirt, and dark blue jeans.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"Are you Benjamin Gates?" Ven asked.

"Yes?" the man replied nervously.

"We would like to talk to you about Flint's trove." Ven said as the man arched an eyebrow.

"For what purpose?" he asked back.

"We're historians and we believe that there are some ancient artifacts hidden amongst Flint's treasure." Ven replied as Gates looked unconvinced.

"Can I see some credentials first?" Gates asked, Ven and the others knew the jig was up but Terra had an idea.

"Perhaps this will change your mind?" Terra said as he summoned his Keyblade and held it just so Gates could see. Gates went wide eyed as he saw it and quickly looked around to make sure no one saw and just as quickly ushered them inside.

"So what brings a Keybearer to my humble home besides the wealth of a thousand worlds?" Ben asked as he led them to a den/library.

"Three Keybearers actually…these two here are Keybearers as well." Terra said indicating Ven and Aqua.

"I see." Ben replied as he sat down in a wing backed chair, and the others quickly found a seat save for Cid who leaned against a book case with his spear.

"Uh could you put that out please?" Ben asked the pilot as he held out an ashtray which the pilot just shrugged and ground out the cigar.

"Sorry." Cid apologized as he returned to where he was.

"It's ok I just don't allow smoking in my home." Ben replied.

"How do you recognize the Keyblade?" Aqua asked.

"I've studied a lot of legends surrounding the items stolen by Captain Flint, items such as several Cetra artifacts which led me to learn more about the Keyblade legends." Ben replied.

"I see." Ven said with a nod.

"I can only hope that's why you're searching for the treasure…for the artifacts like you said." Ben said.

"We're not interested in treasure…if we find it you can have all you want of it…but we get the Cetra artifacts." Terra said.

"I'm not interested in the wealth ether…it's something my family ever since my great, great, great, grandfather has hunted for…I just want to end the hunt so that we don't continue going down in the annals of history as a bunch of insane treasure hunters." Ben replied as Aqua picked up a golden sphere like object off of a marble top table next to the couch that she, Aerith, and Yuna were sitting on.

"How far are you to finding the treasure?" Aerith asked.

"Well…I'm close but I still need a vital clue to help guide us to it." Ben replied as he noticed Aqua playing with the device.

"The thing that you're holding there is an exact replica of the map to finding it." Ben said as Aqua looked at the object curiously.

"Do you know where the real map is?" Yuna asked.

"No unfortunately." Ben replied as Aqua started pressing a few buttons on the sphere. The buttons suddenly sank into the sphere and she started spinning part of it, then another part, when the second part stopped spinning the device started glowing green.

"That's…not supposed to happen." Ben said as he sat on the edge of his seat and in a flash a large green hologram of a map appeared showing stars and nebulas until finally coming to a single green sphere with two rings crossing each other in an X.

"Treasure planet…" Ben said wide eyed, "…that's treasure planet!"

"I think this is the real map." Ven said just as dumbfounded.

"But how…I mean I bought that thing at a yard sale." Ben replied. As the device shut off.

"It looks like we're going on a trip." Terra said as he stood up.

"Look I'm going with you…my family has searched for this treasure for generations." Ben said as he stood up.

"Of course you can come…it's your map after all." Aerith said as Cid groaned quietly.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to turn down an extra bed." He mumbled as there was a pounding knock at the door and everyone jumped up with their weapons ready.

"Expecting visitors?" Ven asked as the pounding increased and voices were heard outside.

"No I'm not." Ben said as Aqua handed him the map, and he quickly shoved it in a black leather jacket pocket hanging around the back of his chair then quickly donned the jacket.

"Is there a back door?" Yuna asked.

"Follow me." Ben said as he pushed a book on the bookcase back and the bookcase dropped down into the floor revealing a staircase leading down into the basement.

"This way hurry." Ben said as everyone ran down the stairs and as soon as Ben passed through he pulled a lever on the wall inside and the bookcase returned to its original position just as the door was blown into splinters.

A swarm of pirates entered the house followed by none other than John Silver himself.

"FIND THE MAP YOU SCALLYWAGS!!" they heard Silver bellow from a tunnel underneath the house.

"Where does this thing lead?" Ven asked as Ben pushed on a pair of wooden doors and led the others out of the basement and out into the street…but they didn't make a clean get away.

From outside the house a familiar red optic spotted our heroes in retreat.

"_THE SUBJECTS ARE ON THE RUN!!" _AUTO yelled as Silver burst out the door.

"GET THEM YOU FOOLS THEY HAVE THE MAP!!" He ordered as the pirates ran out the door after the fleeing heroes.

Cid was about to hit the emergency recall button but before he could a flash of light enveloped them and they reappeared on board the gummy ship.

"What the?!" Ven asked.

"Mickey just brought you here by magic." Rikku replied.

"Thanks Mouse!" Cid yelled as he took the controls from Vincent, the gummy ship was already airborne.

"We saw the pirate ship dock and we tried to contact you but there was too much interference." Vincent said as the gummy ship lurched in a hard turn.

"It's ok we got what we need." Yuna replied.

Suddenly the ship shook.

"What was that?!" Aqua asked.

"It's the Pirates!! They're shooting at us!!" Cid yelled as the gummy ship turned hard to dodge the attacking pirate ship.

Suddenly another blast hit the ship.

"We gotta jet, strap yourselves in!!" Cid shouted as he spun up the hyperdrive for _"To Infinity and Beyond!!"_

"HANG ON!!" he shouted as the gummy ship shot off like a rocket only to drop out a few seconds later.

"Uh what happened?" Aqua asked as Cid turned to a console.

"Augh…that last hit took out the hyperdrive; we're dead in the water!" Cid answered as Ben pulled out the map and activated it.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem…we can reach Treasure planet on our sublight drives." Ben said as he looked at the map.

"It's only three days away from Montressor and our small burst of hyperdrive cut off a day and a half's travel." He continued as Cid shrugged and put in the coordinates.

"What about the pirates?" Terra asked.

"Those Montressor models ain't as advanced as most gummy ships these days…they do however have a form of hyperdrive that is noticeably slower by comparison." Cid answered.

"But it's going to be close…it will take us one and a half days on sublight…and one in three quarters of a day for them." Ben added.

"Ok…so all we can do is hope nothing slows us down in the meantime." Yuna said as everyone nodded.

"Ok…so…who are you guys?" Ben asked.

"Oh I'm sorry I thought we had introduced ourselves." Aqua said with an innocent smirk.

"I'm Ven."

"Terra."

"Aqua."

"I'm Aerith."

"Mickey Mouse!"

"Yuna."

"Vincent Valentine."

"Rikku!!"

"Cid Highwind."

"The big guy is Kimahri Ronso…" Aqua said as the Ronso entered the room, followed by Wall-e and M-O, "…and the robots there are Wall-e and M-O."

"Mo"

"Well this is certainly a motley crew." Ben replied. "I'm Benjamin Gates…call me Ben."

"We are kind of motley aren't we?" Rikku asked.

"Oui lyh cyo dryd ykyeh Rikku." Ven replied. (You can say that again Rikku)

"Fa yna geht uv sudmao ynahd fa?" Rikku repeated in Al Bhed with a giggle.

"Ur cu oui lyh cbayg Al Bhed duu?" Ben said causing Ven and Rikku to look at him surprised. (Oh so you can speak Al Bhed too?)

"Oh no…not another one." Aqua moaned as she left the room with Vincent and the others in tow.

"E's hydeja Al Bhed...Yunie yht E yna vnus Spira...uhmo Yunie ech'd yh Al Bhed." Rikku said. (I'm native Al Bhed...Yunie and I are from Spira...only Yunie isn't an Al Bhed.)

"...yht so feva ec Spiran." Ven added. (...and my wife is Spiran.)

"Aqlabd cra'c hud yh Al Bhed." Rikku corrected, (Except she's not an Al Bhed.)

"Sorry you lost me after Yunie…my Al Bhed isn't that good." Ben replied sheepishly.

"You get used to it." Cid said over his shoulder.

* * *

A few hours later Aqua was sitting silently in the mess hall as Vincent wandered in.

She didn't even acknowledge him so he just went about and got himself some coffee…then he heard a sniffle.

"Aqua?" he said causing her to jump slightly.

"Oh…Vincent I didn't hear you come in." she said with a shaky voice, her eyes looked red and there was a single faint tear running down her face.

"Were you crying?" Vincent asked as she turned back around quickly and shook her head silently.

"You were weren't you?!" he said as he moved over to face her.

"Worlds woman…what's wrong?" Vincent asked with genuine concern as he sat down.

"Nothing's wrong." She replied as she refused to let Vincent see her face.

"Yes there is…is it something I did? Something someone else did? Something that someone should have done?" he asked as she shook her head again and finally looked at him.

"It's just…everything that has happened lately has just been too much." She replied.

"What do you mean?" he asked…she paused for a moment before sighing.

"Two days before this whole mess started…was the anniversary of my husband's disappearance." She answered.

"Oh…I take it that it's a tough day for you then?" he asked.

"Very…" she muttered, "…I loved Mune…he was my life…then a month before our daughter was born he just vanishes without a trace."

"I see." Vincent replied, "so…the perky attitude is just a cover?"

"Mmm hmm." She answered, "…and being away from Kairi only makes it worse."

"So when you called me Vinnie?" he asked.

"That was just because I was trying to be friendly…I didn't expect you to chew me out like that." She said with a sniffle.

"Yeah…I meant to tell you why." Vincent replied.

"Why what?" she asked.

"Why I don't like to be called Vinnie." He answered, "I…I had a girlfriend, she vanished too…her name was Dr. Lucrecia Crescent…she was the lead scientist for Ansem the Wise, and I was frequently assigned as her bodyguard…we began to love each other…until she…" he paused.

"Oh Vincent…I'm so sorry…and she called you Vinnie?" Aqua asked.

"Yes…though only when it was us." Vincent replied.

"Oh…I'm sorry Vincent." She said.

"It's me who should be apologizing to you for chewing you out…" Vincent said as Aqua lifted her head slightly.

"But…you can call me Vince." Vincent said as she gave him a slight smile and inched closer to him and looked into his eyes.

After a moment they started to lean in and eventually their lips met.

Ven passed the door but quickly hid when he saw the spectacle. He smiled a caring smile at them as they remained lip-locked.

It brought back a flood of memories for Ven as he turned and walked away.

As the two parted Aqua looked at Vince.

"Thank you…Vince." She said with her traditional smile.

* * *

M-O was scrubbing around as usual but there was a new "Foreign Contaminant" that he hadn't seen before and it was all the way down one of the corridors like something was dripping.

M-O just continued scrubbing along until he reached Aerith's room and peaked inside.

He saw Aerith doing something to a large pot on the floor.

Aerith then turned to see M-O attempting to scrub the pot causing her to snicker.

"M-O it's called a flower pot there's no reason to scrub it." She said as she picked up the small robot.

He looked curiously at the black powder in the bottom of the pot, as his sensors registered it as a "Foreign Contaminant" and he desperately attempted to start scrubbing it.

"M-O…stop it." Aerith said as she let him down and he attempted to reach the top in a vain attempt to clean it.

Wall-e was passing by at the moment and spotted the small robot's attempts and Aerith's growing frustration with him.

He instinctively tapped M-O on the shoulder and ran a track mark on his head as he turned.

M-O screamed as he cleaned his head off and started chirping angrily at Wall-e who then rolled away leaving more track marks as he went making M-O chirp even more angrily as he started scrubbing after him.

"Machina…you can't live with them…but you certainly can live without them." Rikku said as she passed by.

"True." Aerith answered.

* * *

That night Kimahri had volunteered to sleep in the main cargo hold. Aqua and Wall-e was helping to set up a large old mattress for the Ronso.

"Kimahri not need fluffy thing…Kimahri fine on floor." Kimahri said as Aqua straightened the sheets and Wall-e compacted a pillow to make it extra fluffy.

"Nonsense…besides it makes me feel good to do this…it brings out my 'maternal instincts' and all that." Aqua replied.

"Aqua mother?" Kimahri asked as Aqua paused.

"Yeah…I have a little girl…her name's Kairi, she has red hair…she got that from her father." Aqua answered a little down trodden at not being able to be with her little girl.

"Aqua sound sad." Kimahri said with a hint of caring in his voice.

"It's ok big guy I'll see her again soon…I hope." Aqua said as she finished.

"Ok big guy try it out." She said as the large Ronso sat down on the mattress.

"Comfy?" Aqua asked as Wall-e rolled up next to her.

"Kimahri comfortable." He replied.

"Good…Wall-e will be right over there recharging so you won't be alone in here." Aqua said as she stood up and pulled the sheets over the Ronso.

"Kimahri say…thank you." He said as Aqua headed off towards her room.

"Good night you two." Aqua said as she dimmed the lights, leaving only the soft blue glow of the hall lights illuminating the room.

* * *

**End Chapter 16**

Ok quick clarification Ben is not going to stay for the entire story…just for the Treasure Planet Arc.

Also I must clarify something real quick.

I have a friend who I let read over my chapters and, he is something of a Final Fantasy & Kingdom Hearts expert and he brought something to my attention that I need to clarify.

Vincent's voice is not the deep grouchy one we hear in Advent Children and in Dirge of Cerberus, it is actually a young, more human sounding voice considering this is before his tall dark and spooky years…which whether or not it will happen in the story you will just have to wait and see.

See if you can find on YouTube a clip from DOC of when Vincent was a Turk…this will also give you some idea of what he looked like before he became what we know him as today.


	17. Treasure Planet part 1

The following morning was rather somber for our heroes.

Ben, Aerith, Terra, and Yuna had taken to studying the map…they were fortunately still on course and were only a mere four hours away.

Rikku was busy practicing with her "claws" against a pile of garbage cubes with Ven, Kimahri, and Wall-e's supervision, Vincent and Aqua were talking in the mess hall, M-O was scrubbing around, and Cid had his eyes peeled dead ahead for any sign of the planet in question.

But as they suspected a solar sailor gummy ship was right on their tail…but what hadn't been expected was that it had been modified for greater speed.

"PUT YOUR BACKS INTO IT!!" Silver yelled as the pirate crew continued working as hard as they could to increase their speed.

"_By my calculations they will reach our destination half an hour before we do." _AUTO said to the cyborg captain.

"It doesn't matter; we will catch them and take all the gold and treasure we can carry from their cold dead bodies." Silver sneered.

"_My directives require me to terminate subject Terra and all associated with subject." _AUTO replied.

"I wonder what drugs Hojo was doing when he created you." Silver mumbled.

"_My audio receptors detected your statement and I believe he was using Advil for back pain." _AUTO replied as Silver groaned and face palmed simultaneously.

* * *

**Meanwhile back in Midgar…**

Angeal and Cloud had just returned from having Zack infused with the Mako energy, and the poor boy was tired as can be.

"He's strong…he didn't even scream." Cloud said as he recalled his own infusion.

"He's got either a remarkably strong pain threshold or his determination not to look bad is incredibly strong." Angeal replied.

"I hope he goes far…otherwise he winds up just another shmuck on the streets with glowing eyes." Cloud said as Angeal nodded and a woman in a 2nd class SOLDIER uniform with short silver hair and carrying a large curved buster sword with an impressive skull decal approached and saluted.

"Paine SOLDIER 2nd class reporting as ordered sir!" the woman said stoically.

"Knock off the sirs and salutes Paine…it's me remember?" Angeal replied with a smirk as the woman nodded with a smirk as she stood at ease.

"You said had a mission for me sir?" Paine asked as Angeal looked at Cloud and nodded.

Cloud got the hint and went off to find where they had taken Zack.

"I hope you don't mind Paine but I need you to go to the slums for me on a mission I was supposed to undertake." Angeal instructed as he pulled out a small envelope with a few papers stuffed into it.

"What's the mission?" she asked.

"The mission is relatively simple; you are to locate and apprehend the crime boss Don Corneo and bring him into custody." Angeal replied as Paine nodded in understanding.

"Might I suggest that you make this a plain clothes mission…no uniforms." Angeal suggested as he handed Paine the envelope.

"I'll be sure to use the shaded contact lenses to hide the mako in my eyes." Paine said as she took the envelope.

"I would go myself but I have a new pupil and he just has undergone the Mako infusion." Angeal explained.

"It's no problem sir." Paine replied.

"Thanks…Oh and as secondary objective…go to the 7th Heaven bar in the sector seven slums and give the owner…one Tifa Lockhart this message…" Angeal said as he looked around to be sure no one was listening.

"Stormy weather brewing, wolf amongst the sheep, runaway tractor driver, wolf and driver working together, stand by…Tifa will know what it means…and be sure to tell her that it's from me." Angeal encrypted as Paine nodded and left to prepare for the mission.

Angeal waited for Paine to be out of the corridor.

"Ok Cloud you can come out now." Angeal said as the spiky haired blond appeared from around the corner.

"Sorry sir I didn't…" Cloud attempted to apologize but was stopped by his mentor.

"It's ok Cloud…I am fully aware that you and Tifa are…close." Angeal said as Cloud raised his head slightly.

"But what was that message you had for her?" He asked.

"That is neither your concern nor-business." Angeal warned as he headed off to find Zack with Cloud in tow.

What Cloud didn't suspect was Angeal's secret mission to uncover Hojo as an agent of darkness.

* * *

**Later…**

On board the Fahrenheit everyone had piled into the bridge as ETA was down to the seconds.

The tension was unbearable until Vincent pointed.

"Look there it is!!"

And sure enough behind a number of dust clouds was a big green planet with two rings meeting in an X on one side.

"YEE-HAW next stop Treasure Planet!!" Cid yelled as they approached.

"Perhaps we should take the gummy ship in close to the surface…then we can make a quick getaway if need be." Terra suggested.

"…not to mention get some much needed repairs done." Cid added as he brought the gummy ship to the surface.

"Ok who's going and who's helping with the repairs?" Ven asked as Ben stood up next to him with the inactive map in his hands.

"I'm going!!" Aqua shouted.

"Me too!!" Rikku replied.

"Fro ys E hud cinbnecat?" Ven muttered. (Why am I not surprised?)

"I'll stay and lend a hand." Vincent said as he walked up next to Aqua.

"I'll go and help pal." Mickey said as he summoned his Keyblade.

"I'll stay behind with Cid." Terra said.

"I guess I can stay behind too…besides one of my Aeons may be of use in case we become out numbered." Yuna said as she approached.

"I'm going." Aerith said.

"_Wwwallee." _Wall-e said as he rolled up next to Ven…signifying he was going.

"If Wall-e goes…Kimahri goes." Kimahri said as he walked up next to them.

"Ok so it's myself, Ben, Aqua, Rikku, Mickey, Aerith, Wall-e, and Kimahri going and Cid, Vincent, Terra, and Yuna staying." Ven verified.

"Correctamundo Ven." Aqua replied as Ven could see the gold fever in her eyes.

"Ok but if you run into Pirates…" Cid said as he picked up a box from under one of the seats along the wall, "Use these to warn us."

Cid opened the box revealing a pair of sleak specially made guns.

"They're sonic flare guns, one shot will not only send a flare miles high, but also make a sonic boom that can be heard for miles." Cid explained as Ven took one of the guns and put it in his pocket.

As they disembarked Ben activated the map, but instead of the star map it simply created a single large green streak off in one direction with a pulsing gold line quickly moving down the streak away from the map.

"I guess it wants us to go that way." Ben said as they started following the streak into the woods.

"You have heard the tale of Captain Flint haven't you?" Ben asked after a few minutes.

"Not that well I'm afraid." Ven answered.

"Well they say that the key to Flint's success was his ability to practically appear out of thin air, attack and plunder a ship, then vanish just as quickly as he appeared…a single surviving eye witness recalled seeing a massive glowing green triangle in the middle of space mere seconds before Flint appeared." Ben explained unaware that a pair of electronic eyes were watching them.

"So is there a Mrs. Gates?" Aqua asked causing Ven and Ben to look at her strangely until she started laughing.

"You guys are so easy." She chuckled.

"Fro oui pmia ryenat suhgao oui." Ven muttered causing Rikku to giggle.

"What did he say?" Aqua asked.

"He said, and I quote, 'Why you blue haired monkey you." Ben replied as Aqua gave Ven a playful death glare.

"He wasn't supposed to translate that." Ven huffed as a number of bushes rustled.

"What was that?!" Mickey asked as everyone drew their weapons, and Ben whipped out a pistol.

"Oh I hope it's not the pirates." Rikku said as suddenly…

"PIRATES DAHHH!!" a rusty looking robot yelped as it burst out of the bushes and ran hysterically towards the group, which Kimahri promptly grabbed by the throat and held it up off the ground.

It was a dark brown with patches of rust and what appeared to be algae growing on it in certain areas. Its head was like a flat cylinder and its eyes were like two telescopes, it also had a jaw flap underneath its eyes. On its chest was a circular symbol with a compass like you would find on a map showing which direction is north.

"Please don't hurt me…I'm quite friendly really." The robot said rapidly.

"What are you?!" Aerith asked.

"The name's B.E.N. that's Bio Electronic Navigator at your service." The robot said as Kimahri put him down.

"What are you doing here?" Aqua asked curiously.

"I was…oh what is it? I know it's a color similar to red…hmmm…" the robot said as he put his hand to his jaw.

"Marooned?" Aqua, Ven, Ben, and Aerith asked in unison.

"THAT'S it!" B.E.N. said as they noticed on the back of his head appeared to be a hole with a few wires hanging out.

"Uh B.E.N. you have a hole in your head." Ben informed.

"Really? I hadn't noticed, ha ha." The bot replied like a madman, "You know…I think I have a hole in my head…my primary memory circuit is missing I believe?"

Everyone then understood why the robot seemed like he had lost his mind…it's because he had.

Ben looked up and noticed that the pulsing light had increased in speed.

"Hey I think we're getting closer." Gates said as they fell in.

"HEY don't just leave me here." B.E.N. pleaded as he fell to his knees…which had rollers on them allowing him to roll along behind them, "I know something about the treasure!"

That caught their attention.

"What?" Aqua asked.

"You know it's the funniest thing…I can't remember." The robot laughed, "But I do know it's important."

"Come on maybe it will come back to you." Ven said as B.E.N. fell in line with the others.

"SO?!" the robot asked loudly, "What are we looking for?!"

"Can you just be quiet for once?" Aqua asked.

"Ok I'll be quiet." B.E.N. replied…it didn't last.

"Hey did I tell you about these weirdoes who came by lately…boy were they weird…one was fat and had this orange yellow eye and this big metal hand…and this…" B.E.N. was about to finish but the others had clamped his mouth shut while Ben quickly shut off the map device.

"Silver's here." Ven whispered and pulled out the sonic flare pistol and fired it into the air just as Silver and his pirates leapt out of the bushes.

* * *

Back at the gummy ship Cid was just finishing up on the repairs when they heard the sonic boom from the flare gun.

"Uh oh…" Cid said as Vincent and Terra readied their weapons just as a swarm of Pirates appeared from the forest.

"Yuna…time for an Aeon or two don't you think?!" Terra said as Vincent picked off a few would be snipers with Cerberus.

"Agreed…" Yuna replied as she started waving her summoning wand around in a dance like fashion, "HOUND OF HEAT, WOLF OF FLAME, I ASK YOU LIVE TO YOUR NAME!!"

In a burst of fire a large wolf like beast with a fire red mane, black horns, large hands, and breathing fire appeared…it was Ifrit the fire Aeon.

The attacking pirates stood in absolute fear of the beast as Yuna ordered it to attack.

Ifrit roared and unleashed a wave of fire from its mouth sending the pirates into a hasty retreat.

"That did the trick!" Terra said as Ifrit calmed down slightly.

"That's a good Ifrit…good boy." Yuna said as she scratched the Aeon behind the ear, causing it to give something of a smile.

"Is it my imagination or is Ifrit smiling?" Terra asked the Turk standing next to him.

"Yeah I'd say he's smiling." Vincent replied as Terra then got the funny feeling that told him that AUTO was nearby.

"Uh oh…I better go find the others, I think AUTO is with Silver and his ilk." Terra said as he ran into the woods in the same direction as the others had left.

* * *

**End Chapter 17.**

No B.E.N. isn't staying either.


	18. Treasure Planet part 2

The pirates surrounded our heroes as Silver emerged accompanied by repaired AUTO.

"Well, well, well, what have we hear boys?" Silver asked as Kimahri glared at AUTO.

"What do you want now Silver?" Aqua asked.

"Don't play dumb with me lass we both be looking for the same thing…and that thing be the wealth of a thousand worlds is it not?" Silver asked as he aimed his gun arm at the group.

"Wow you look just like the guy I saw earlier!" B.E.N. shouted as the others groaned.

"Well…if me optic doesn't deceive me it be Flint's old bio electronic navigator." Silver said as AUTO approached the aged robot.

"_Bio Electronic Navigator is inferior to this model." _AUTO declared, _"Bio electronic navigator is obsolete."_

"Now look here me friends all we want is the map…give us the map and we be letting ya go." Silver said as Ben nodded to Ven.

"Ok you win." Ben said as he tossed Silver the map.

Silver caught it in his mechanical arm.

"Thank ye lad. Ye made the right choice." Silver laughed as he attempted to activate it but failed...he tried two more times using verious arm types but to no avail.

"Dah…here you activate it." Silver said as he handed the map to AUTO who scanned it in a red scanning beam.

"_Analysis inconclusive…no solution found."_ AUTO replied causing the heroes to chuckle.

"All right ye wiseacres!" Silver bellowed, "YE activate it!"

Silver tossed the device to Ven who then handed it to Ben. Ben quickly activated the device causing the green streak and pulsing white light to re-appear.

"Follow that light lads!!" Silver ordered as they started after it with our heroes trapped amongst them.

Not far behind, Terra was chasing after them as Cid, Yuna, and Vincent quickly continued the repairs to the ship.

Finally the group reached a large wall of foliage and the pulsing light was going through it at an incredible rate of speed.

"Ah ha!! We're almost there boys!!" Silver yelled as they burst through to reveal…an empty cliff ledge with the beam stopping in mid-air.

"What is going on? Where be me treasure?" Silver asked as AUTO scanned the open air.

"_Analysis inconclusive…no sol…"_ "Yeah, yeah no solution found I know ya overgrown bucket-o-bolts!" Silver yelled at the robot as the map suddenly switched itself off.

"You know…I remember this but…I can't remember what happens next." B.E.N. said as everyone rolled their eyes.

"What happened?!" Silver bellowed at Ben as he tried to reactivate it.

"I-I don't know. It won't turn back on!" Ben replied as Wall-e noticed something in the ground…a small bowl shaped slot built into the ground.

Wall-e then looked at the map device and figured it out. He quickly ran over Ben's foot causing him to yelp and drop the device right into Wall-e's claws.

"What the devil is that thing up to?" Silver asked as Wall-e placed the sphere into the slot. The map began to glow bright green as it hovered into the air slightly and a massive green triangle appeared on the edge of the cliff.

"By the worlds…" Silver said as he and the entire group stared in awe.

"But where is the treasure?" Scroop hissed as Silver shoved Wall-e out of the way as a large green hologram of a star map appeared above the map.

Ben approached along side of Silver and moved to touch a hologram that resembled Montressor Spaceport. As he touched the hologram the triangle quickly closed and reopened showing the very place Ben had selected.

"I get it now…" Ben said as he stood up, "…it's a portal device."

"A what?" Silver asked.

"A Portal device…remember that Flint could appear in the blink of an eye and vanish just as quickly? Well this is how he did it…he used this device to travel from here to his target and back again." Ben explained.

"But that still don't answer…WHERE THE DEVIL ME TREASURE IS!!" Silver yelled.

"Simple you just have to open the right door." Ven said as he burst forward and touched the hologram of Treasure Planet causing the portal to open into a mechanical looking chamber.

Silver then beckoned for them to follow him in.

As they all slowly entered no one noticed as Silver accidently broke the beam on a laser emanating from a wall…everyone that is except Terra who realized what it meant and started creeping in after them.

As they walked down a steel plank they slowly beheld nothing but…

"GOLD, JEWELS, MOOLAH!!" Aqua shouted as the entire group split up and dove into the piles of treasure. What they didn't know is that it was an entire large sphere of treasure suspended around the planets' mechanical core.

Our heroes remained together, but were still entranced by the treasure; even Wall-e started packing gold into his cavity.

The only ones not hypnotized were AUTO, Gates, Ven, Kimahri, Mickey, Aerith, and of course B.E.N. all of whom were drawn towards an old solar sailor gummy ship mounted atop the gold.

"You know there's something on the tip of my tongue that I can't quite remember yet." B.E.N. said as the group of heroes, with the rest of the good guys having caught up, boarded the old, gold littered, gummy ship, as AUTO instinctively moved towards the steering wheel.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Ben said as Aerith noticed something hidden in the shadows.

As she approached she flipped on her flash light revealing an alien skeleton sitting on a throne surrounded by gold.

"It's Captain Flint himself." Ben said as Aerith noticed something clutched in Flint's boney fingers and a book resting in his other hand. Aerith quickly grabbed the book and saw the symbol on the cover was the symbol that she saw in the ruins on Spira…it was the Sheppard's Journal. She quickly hid it in her dress as AUTO looked away.

She then grabbed the fingers of the other hand and pulled hard, subsequently breaking the fingers off and causing Ven, Aqua, Ben, and Rikku's faces to turn green.

"Augh Aerith couldn't you just have left that alone?" Aqua asked as she recovered, but Aqua's complaint went unheard as Aerith carried the object over to B.E.N., who was still moaning that he couldn't remember anything, and shoved the object into the slot where the memory circuit was missing.

Instantly the exposed wiring re-attached themselves to the object and pulled it into the old robot's head.

"WHOA!!" B.E.N. said as his eyes filled with static for a split second, "You know pal I was just remembering…wait…remember I can remember everything!!"

"That's great B.E.N." Aqua replied sounding uninterested.

"I even the part where Flint removed my memory circuit so I couldn't tell anyone about the BOOBY TRAP!!" B.E.N. said excitedly before he realized what he said and if robots could pail…he did.

Almost as soon as he said it there was an explosion from a large mechanical object hanging from the ceiling and the device fell into the gold, creating a massive fissure revealing the molten core beneath it. The gold started pouring into the fissure. Silver noticed this quickly and started vainly attempting to pull the gold back towards him.

Back on the ship Terra, having snuck around the back of the ship, leapt up behind AUTO and hit the override switch causing AUTO to fall of the spider walker and onto the deck.

"Terra?! Where did you come from?" Aqua asked as Terra quickly dove under a panel and started some quick re-wiring work on the controls.

"No time for that this place is gonna blow!!" Ven yelled as Terra leapt back up and hit a button on the ship's steering wheel, causing the engine on the back of the ship to let out a loud boom and splutter.

Unfortunately Silver and Scroop noticed this and spotted the heroes on the deck as they worked desperately to get the ship into the air. Silver turned just in time to see the rest of his crew fall to their dooms in the fissure.

Terra looked at the wheel and discovered the problem.

"The wheel's been sabotaged we need a…new one." Terra said as he spotted the inactive AUTO on the floor, "Quick help me get AUTO into position!"

Kimahri grabbed the robot wheel as Terra hit the old wheel off like a golfer would a golf ball at a driving range with his Keyblade.

Just as Kimahri put the wheel in the slot the panel behind the wheel lit up.

"It works…WE'RE ONLINE!!" Ven shouted as the engine roared to life and the gummy ship lurched slightly as it started to hover into the air.

"Then let's get out of here!!" Aqua shouted as the gummy ship turned towards the portal.

Suddenly Mickey noticed something on the bow.

"It's Silver and Scroop!!" he shouted as he summoned his Keyblade.

"We'll deal with them Terra…you get us out of here!!" Ven shouted as he summoned his Keyblade and charged towards the pirates.

"You're not getting out of here that easily!!" Silver growled as his hand became a sword and swung it at Ven and Scroop attacked Mickey, the latter gaining the upper hand quickly as he hit the spider in the face blizzard and whacked his legs, causing him to drop to the deck.

Kimahri then grabbed Scroop by the throat.

"Kimahri not like bugs!" the Ronso said as he hurled Scroop overboard into the fissure below.

The gummy ship flew out of the portal and Aerith spotted the Fahrenheit heading straight towards them.

"Look Cid it's them!!" Vincent said from on the Fahrenheit as a piece of debris knocked one of the sails out on the older gummy ship.

"We're losing power!!" B.E.N. shouted, "We don't have enough power to achieve orbit!"

That's when Aqua saw something beneath a bit of gold that looked familiar to her, she unearthed it and discovered it was a red solar surf board, she then looked back at the still open portal, and an idea popped into her head.

"Turn this thing around! I have an idea!" Aqua shouted as she had Kimahri hold the board on the railing while she jumped onto it.

"What are you crazy?! Wait dumb question!" Terra said as Aqua ignored the comment.

"Turn us around, I'm going to open a different door!" she shouted.

"Can you even fly that thing?!" Rikku asked.

"I live on the islands and I surf in my spare time…you do the math!" she said as she stomped her heel down on the board and a red solar sail popped up causing a rocket on the back to activate as she flew off towards the portal.

Meanwhile Silver and Ven were still dueling.

"Silver it's not worth it…even if I lose we outnumber you now!" Ven shouted as Silver paused as he realized that Ven was right.

"We can kill each other later!" Silver replied as he retracted his sword and headed off with Ven towards the back just in time to see Aqua fly off.

"Uh Ven…can she really surf?!" Rikku asked.

"Not very well I'm afraid." Ven replied as he held his Keyblade vertical and used his power over the sky to help steady Aqua.

The Fahrenheit was in the meantime right beside the solar sailor as Aqua shredded through the sky towards the portal.

But suddenly the engine gave out and she quickly started to plummet into a large chasm. She frantically started stomping her heels on the board to no avail.

Then she swung the board around to where the end was scraping the metal wall and re-ignited the engine allowing her to fly back up to the top and back towards the button mere seconds ahead of the two ships.

She reached out towards the map and pressed the Hologram of an unknown world, and grabbed the map sphere at the same time as she and the two ships flew through the portal and emerged from the other end just as the planet exploded and the portal collapsed for good.

"YES I DID IT!!" Aqua shouted as she surfed back over to the solar sailor and grinded down the rail before leaping onto the deck amidst the cheers of her comrades.

"Ha ya did it Lass!!" Silver yelled excitedly as Terra quickly slapped a pair of electro-shock handcuffs on the pirate's wrists.

"Now that was a dirty move." Silver grumbled as his mechanical arm seized up.

"Where are we?" Mickey asked as Aerith and Terra smirked, they knew where they were.

"Midgar." The said in unison.

* * *

**End chapter 18.**


	19. Midgar Missions

The gummy ships had received clearance to dock at the BNL headquarters and were sitting parallel to each other at a single docking station.

As Silver was being hauled away Ben and B.E.N. were saying their goodbyes.

"I cannot begin to thank you for your help…are you sure that there's nothing besides that book you want?" Ben asked as Aerith shook her head.

"No thank you…I'm not exactly interested in becoming wealthy." Aerith said with a smile.

"You have any use for that solar board?" Aqua asked eagerly.

"Not a one…it's yours." Ben replied as B.E.N. emerged carrying the board under his arm.

"Well ladies it's been fun…but Bennie and I are going to Montressor and opening a Captain Flint museum for all the worlds to see." B.E.N. said happily, his insanity long gone with the replacement of his memory circuit.

"Your serious? You two are going into business with each other?!" Aqua asked.

"Why not? He'll make a great tour guide and story teller…he probably knows more about Captain Flint then I do." Ben replied with a laugh.

"Well ok then…be safe and don't trust any cyborgs." Aqua said as Ben laughed.

"I will…and I won't, thanks again." Ben said as Aqua tossed him the now useless map device.

"One thing I don't understand is…how does what was supposed to be a replica…turn out to be the real McCoy?" Ben asked as he scratched his chin.

"Oh well…I'm not losing any sleep over it, Goodbye all!" Ben yelled as he boarded the old gummy ship, now with a brand new steering wheel with AUTO's being removed, and the ship roared to life as it set sail for Montressor.

* * *

Meanwhile Terra, Rikku, and Vincent, were being guided down a hallway towards Zack's hospital room. As they approached they saw Angeal leaning against the door frame.

"How is he?" Terra asked the 1st class SOLDIER.

"He's fine…most of the aftereffects have worn off by now, he's awake and quite lucid…He and Cloud are doing a SOLDIER mental strategy exercise right now." Angeal replied.

"Can I see him?" Terra asked as Vincent moved behind Angeal.

"Certainly." Angeal replied as he turned to speak with Vincent.

Terra walked in and knocked on the wall as he saw Zack in a hospital bed with Cloud in a chair next to him.

"Hey Uncle Terra!" Zack said with a slightly weakened voice as he spotted him enter.

"Hey buddy how ya perking?" Terra said as he sat backwards on a chair opposite Cloud.

"Once the Mako infusion process is over…you don't feel like doing handstands if you know what I mean?" Zack asked as Terra noticed the glow in his eyes.

"He didn't scream by the way." Cloud said as Terra's eyes widened.

"Really…wait why would he scream?" Terra asked.

"It's an incredibly painful process…it could make even the strongest of men yell out in pain." Cloud explained as Terra's parental instincts kicked in.

"What?! No one told me that process was painful?!" Terra said somewhat outraged.

"Relax its standard procedure for all SOLDIER members uncle Terra." Zack replied casually as Rikku poked her head in.

"Zack...yna oui talahd...E's lusehk eh!" Rikku called. (Zack...are you decent...I'm coming in!)

"Lusa uh eh Rikku!" Zack replied. (Come on in Rikku!)

Rikku entered slowly with her usual smile as Cloud's eyes widened slightly.

"Hey check out the eyes Rikku!" Zack said as the Al Bhed girl looked in his eyes.

"Wow they're glowing…how do you do that?" she asked.

"Eyes infused with Mako energy, a SOLDIER trademark." Zack said proudly as Cloud cleared his throat.

"Oh sorry…Rikku this is Cloud Strife…Cloud, Rikku." Zack introduced.

"Oh hi." Rikku greeted in her trademark perky attitude.

"Uh hi." Cloud greeted nervously.

"Vneaht uv ouinc?" Rikku asked. (Friend of yours?)

"Oab...ra yht E yna pudr bibemc du Angeal huf...ra'c luum." Zack replied causing Cloud to furrow his brow. (Yep...he and I are both pupils to Angeal now...he's cool.)

"What are you two saying?" Cloud asked as Terra snickered.

"They're speaking in Rikku's native tongue of Al Bhed…she taught it to Zack on our way here from Spira." Terra answered as the two Al Bhed speaking friends nodded with a smile.

"How old are you exactly?" Cloud asked as Rikku giggled.

"Fifteen." She answered with a smile.

"Zack's five years younger than you, ya know?" Cloud replied earning a slightly annoyed look from Zack.

"Hey the Al Bhed have been known to Wed at the age of thirteen to people younger or older than themselves." Angeal said as he entered causing Zack to squirm slightly at the thought…he was in no way even close to thinking about that red area right now. Cloud on the other hand found it rather humorous and started laughing.

"Shut up Cloud." Zack told the laughing Strife, as he then turned to a bright red Rikku…she was rather embarrassed at the thought.

"Perhaps we should leave now Rikku." Terra said as he held back a snicker.

"Ok…" Rikku said as she immediately returned to her perky self, and as she turned to leave she gave Zack a smirk and a wink, "Syopa Cusatyo!" (Maybe Someday!)

"What she say?" Cloud asked as Angeal smiled and motioned that his lips were sealed slightly frustrating the 2nd class SOLDIER as Angeal left after the departing heroes.

* * *

Later back outside the gummy ship Angeal turned to Terra.

"I must apologize to you; I haven't been able to even begin my investigation into Professor Hojo's doings." Angeal said as Kimahri approached carrying the inactive AUTO.

"Well here's a little something to help." Terra said as Angeal noticed the inactive robot.

"Well…this is quite a surprise…I've got a friend in R&D by the name of Tuesti, who has agreed to take a look at AUTO's memory banks, and he has my authorization to do so over Hojo's head." Angeal said as Cloud came running out towards the group.

"Sir!!" Cloud said with a salute, "Paine is now ten hours overdue!"

"Blast." Angeal said as he thought for a moment then turned to Terra, "Terra I wonder if I could impose upon you and your friends to help me with something."

"I owe you one for both helping out Zack and that other thing we were talking about." Terra replied.

"Cloud, I want you to escort the assistants carrying AUTO to Reeve Tuesti's office down in R&D and give him this message." Angeal said as he turned to Cloud.

"Yes sir…shoot." Cloud replied.

"Runaway tractor driver in custody, on his way to you now, avoid the hill if at all possible, if intercepted, Messenger will assist." Angeal encrypted, "And Cloud…do not let anyone but Reeve take him away, not even Professor Hojo, you may use deadly force if necessary."

"D-deadly force?! Against a BNL employee?!" Cloud asked.

"I have more authority then he does…I can send AUTO to a civilian bubble gum maker if I wanted to." Angeal said as Cloud saluted and escorted the attendants with AUTO's inactive body on a stretcher out of the dock.

* * *

"So what's this you need us to do?" Ven asked as soon as the doors shut on the gummy ship boarding ramp.

"I need you to go down into Midgar's slums and retrieve one of my most trusted SOLDIERs." Angeal replied.

"The slums?" Aqua asked.

"I know where it is." Aerith replied, "I can guide you all around down there."

"Who's the SOLDIER?" Vincent asked.

"A 2nd class named Paine," Angeal replied, "However it was a plain clothes mission so Paine will not be in the typical SOLDIER uniform and will also be using colored contacts to hide the glow of the Mako infused eyes."

"I see, but where do we find this Paine?" Yuna asked.

"The Sector Seven Slums, hunting down Midgar's largest crime boss, Don Corneo." Angeal answered.

"Wait a minute you're sending us after Corneo?" Terra asked.

"Yes, why?" Angeal asked back.

"Because Don Corneo is one of the most perverted people in the known universe." Terra replied.

"Yeah only women can enter his little brothel in the slums." Vincent said with a stoic face.

"Whoa ho! That kind of pervert huh?" Aqua asked.

"Like you won't believe." Terra replied.

"I think I'm getting Angeal's plan here." Aerith said causing everyone to look at her with an interested eyebrow.

"All of us women go down there directly while the men lie in wait to come to our rescue is that it?" Aerith asked as Angeal shook his head.

"Not exactly." He replied, "I was hoping to borrow Vincent and Terra for a personal assignment in confronting a corrupted employee who knows all about you and your mission…and where your families are in hiding."

"On that note, grab-em and growl Angeal." Aqua said eagerly as she jumped up, "So when do we ladies, Ven, Cid, Kimahri, Mickey, and Wall-e leave?"

"I'm afraid a Ronso, a mouse, and a robot will draw too much attention, and you may be able to pass Cid & Ven off as two of his henchmen…I mean none of you any offence of course." Angeal apologized.

"None taken, some of us have to stay with the ship." Mickey said with an understanding smile and a nod.

"Kimahri not offended…Kimahri still wishes he could help protect Keyblades." Kimahri replied.

"Hey don't you worry big guy…we'll be fine with our 'big strong' men 'protecting' us…offence intended boys." Aqua teased as Cid turned to Ven.

"Can I stab her with this is over?" Cid asked.

"I'll even hold her down for you." Ven replied.

"You may want to start by going to a bar in the slums called 'Tifa's Seventh Heaven.' The owner is a trusted friend of mine and Clouds." Angeal advised, "Ask her if Paine has been by lately, and if she says no then it means she has and if she says yes than it means no."

"I know Tifa…she's a good friend of mine." Aerith added.

"Then she will probably be more than willing to help you out." Angeal said with a nod as Wall-e slowly rolled into the room making a grunting noise as he went.

"What's wrong with you little Machina?" Rikku asked as Wall-e made an exhausted sigh and opened his cavity door, when he did a pile of gold and jewels from Treasure Planet spilled out.

"Wall-e when I get back I am going to put you in my will." Aqua said as her eyes lit up with the gold.

"Well that's something nice to have when we need to bribe someone." Cid smirked.

"Aren't you forgetting the fifty grand you received from Ansem the Wise for staying until Master Yen Sid returned from meeting with him?" Vincent asked as Cid started looking around the room innocently.

"Hey I was bribed fair and square." Cid said with a smirk as Angeal silently snickered at the thought of the universes' heroes being a bunch of nut cases.

* * *

"We're going to need to get you ladies some clothes that would make us look somewhat…oh how shall I put this without getting slapped?" Ven said as they entered the elevator to the sector seven slums.

"Uh slutty?" Aqua asked.

"I wasn't going to use that exact term but yeah." Ven replied as the elevator started moving down at high speed.

"Hey just act like blue here and you'll be fine." Cid said as Aqua stomped his foot.

"Steel toed boots…a valiant effort though." Cid replied as Aqua then kicked him in the shin...the scream could be heard from the underworld.

"Ok, Ok you win…dang woman." Cid muttered as he nursed his bruised shin.

"So where do we go first oh valiant maiden of the slums?" Aqua asked Aerith who took the comment in stride.

"Well I suppose we should go to Tifa's first." Aerith replied as the elevator stopped and opened to reveal a large, filthy, junk filled and dark city.

"Whoa and I thought the aftermath of an attack by Sin was horrible…what hit this place?" Yuna asked as they stepped out into the muck.

"Poverty hit…it's because of crime lords like Corneo that things are so bad down here…Corneo is the boss of not only sector seven, but all of the other sectors as well, his headquarters is here however." Aerith explained.

"What about the other sectors?" Ven asked.

"The other crime bosses there have recently vanished…no one knows if it was their rivals or if it was BNL sending SOLDIER down here to assassinate them…either way it puts Corneo in direct control over the entire slums." Aerith replied.

"You should be careful who hears you say that." A female voice said from nearby and a woman with silver hair in semi-revealing black leather clothing with silver studs all over it, and carrying a large decretive buster sword approached them.

"Corneo's minions could hear you saying that and take you down in an instant." The woman said without expression, "Well…more like kill the guys and knock the four of you out for their boss to get his jolly's in."

"Should we be thanking you for the warning…or be ready to defend ourselves?" Aqua asked as the woman smirked.

"Just some friendly advice…by the way would any of you happen to have a charged holo-phone on you? Mine broke a while ago." the woman replied.

"Sorry." Yuna replied as the woman shrugged and ran off.

"Fryd'c y holo-phone?" Rikku asked. (What's a holo-phone?)

"Paydc sa." Ven replied. (Beats me.)

"What did you say?" Yuna asked.

"I asked him what a holo-phone was but he didn't know." Rikku replied as they continued following Aerith towards what appeared to be an abandoned area of the slums, save for three buildings, the left and central ones were uninteresting but the one on the right was lit up with a green neon sign that read "Tifa's Seventh Heaven."

"Here we are." Aerith said as she walked towards the door.

"Wait a minute; you can't come in here Rikku. You're underage." Yuna said, but before Rikku could argue Ven spoke up.

"It's ok, I'll stay out here with her." He said as Rikku smiled and shrugged, "Besides we could look for the special 'wardrobe' for you."

"Ok but I would prefer something in the colors I'm wearing mind you." Yuna replied.

"I already have something tucked away, I'll need to get it before we go for you know who." Aerith said with a smile.

"Use your imagination Ven…you know me well enough." Aqua said as Ven pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You would be content to run around in the buff…and as I recall you did that senior year after graduation." Ven replied as Aqua gave him a mischievous grin.

"Hey you couldn't keep your eyes off me." She remarked as the others were about to explode from holding in the laughter.

"That was back when we were dating…and thought we had a chance." Ven argued.

"Ok you got me there…besides I wouldn't have met Mune had we decided to stay together." Aqua replied.

"True." Ven said with a nod as Aerith shook her head and shoved the blue haired, ex-streakier, inside.

"Here…take this." Cid said as he handed Ven 500 munny, "Use it for the girls…and buy something to make you look meaner…I want the change and the receipts though."

As Cid closed the door Ven rolled his eyes as Rikku burst out laughing.

"Oui ryja faent dycda frah ed lusac du kenmc." Rikku giggled. (You have weird taste when it comes to girls.)

"Ur crid ib Rikku." Ven replied as they headed off in search of a clothing store. (Oh shut up Rikku)

* * *

**End chapter 19.**

I know this is getting a little risqué but I am a guy after all…besides I envision Aqua as a major tomboy and really wild if left to her own devices.

This makes you wonder what Kairi's father Mune was like.

Yes Kairi's father and Aqua's husband is named Mune in this fic…trust me the name will be an interesting plot device in the chapters to come.


	20. Corporate Raiding & the Slums

Angeal, Terra, and Vincent walked into an office room filled with cubicles similar to Terra's own only different.

"Uh oh." Terra said as he saw a blond haired woman at the end of the hall in a red dress, before she turned Terra had vanished.

"Mr. Hewley what pray tell are you doing here?" she asked as she approached.

"SOLDIER business Scarlet, not yours." Angeal replied coldly.

"I see." Scarlet replied, "Would it have anything to do why AUTO wasn't taken to professor Hojo for re-directing per-instructions?"

"I said, none of your business Scarlet." Angeal replied as Terra peaked around the corner, unfortunately Scarlet spotted his spiky brown hair.

"TERRA I see you!" she bellowed.

"Spiteful old bat." Terra muttered as he emerged from the cubicle he was hiding in.

"What did you just call me?" she asked with fury flashing in her eyes at his audacity.

"I've always wanted to tell you this to your face Scarlet…" Terra said with a sinister grin, "You, Scarlet, are an old bat that fell out of a Chocobo's butt in the summer."

Scarlet was in shock that one of her own underlings would dare to call her that to her face. The employees in the room were struggling to decide whether or not they should…

A) Laugh at what she was just called.

B) Applaud at Terra's bravery

or

C) Wet their pants and cower in fear at his impending doom.

The staff decided on C for the time being…minus the wetting of the pants part.

Scarlet just blinked a few times, still in shock. Angeal had to bite his lip to keep from laughing his fool head off…same with Vincent.

Terra was just standing there smugly.

Finally Scarlet just blinked again and walked past him without a word towards the elevator. A few minutes after the door closed the room erupted into cheers and applause while Terra bowed gracefully.

"Boy it's a good thing you're not in SOLDIER." Angeal said as Terra finished bowing to the praising masses, "…because then I would have to put you on report for mouthing off to a BNL department chairman…but since you're not, I can buy you a drink after words."

At the end of the hall a man in a long blue coat with black hair and a goatee stood clapping.

"Reeve…glad you could enjoy the show." Angeal said as they approached.

"I'm glad your friend here could provide it." Reeve responded.

"Did Cloud get to you yet with AUTO?" Angeal asked as Reeve nodded.

"Yes he did…Scarlet however had noticed it and was ordering the attendants to take AUTO to Hojo, but Cloud said he had authority from you to override anyone but yours and my commands with deadly force if necessary." Reeve responded.

"Glad he succeeded." Angeal answered.

"So why the code and the secrecy?" Reeve asked as they entered a lab with AUTO attached to panel hanging from the ceiling. AUTO had a number of wires attached from him to a computer. Cloud was standing next to him with buster sword in hand.

"It was necessary Reeve…for the sake of the universe…come on Cloud it's time you learned what's going on with your friend Zack and everyone his uncle here is associated." Angeal said as the blond SOLDIER approached the screen.

"First Reeve Tuesti I would like you to meet Vincent Valentine and Terra, both friends of mine." Angeal introduced as Reeve then turned to the computer and after a moment brought up a list of AUTO's directives.

"You were right Angeal, these directives aren't even close to the ones intended for AUTO…this is curious." Reeve said as he noticed something on the screen, "The records show that the last modification done to the directives was a mere five days ago."

"Hojo was listed as the last one who worked on him." Angeal said as Cloud arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah that was when we had that little foul up on the Axiom's bridge." Terra explained as Cloud looked at Terra confused.

"I thought there was something funny going on up there." Cloud said as Terra and Angeal looked at him expressionless, then back at the screen.

"What happened on the Axiom?" Reeve asked.

"We discovered that AUTO had been programmed with one additional directive, Directive A-1-13." Terra replied.

"What directive was that?" Reeve asked.

"The directive gave detailed instructions to spy on me to collect information regarding a few…sensitive subjects." Terra answered.

"You mean like, secret projects?" Reeve asked as Terra shook his head.

"No, subjects that I really can't discuss in the open right now…it's too risky." Terra said.

"Hmm…the directive speaks for itself, Keyblades, Kingdom Hearts, those are quite a touchy couple of subjects alright." Reeve said, as he glanced at the screen, "It was buried amongst the older directives. But what I don't get is why would AUTO be interested in you?"

Terra paused for a moment before turning to Angeal and Vincent who nodded knowingly. Terra stretched out his arm and summoned the Keyblade into his hand.

"Y-you have a Keyblade?" Reeve said surprised, "I thought they were myths."

"So we had believed, but the legends are coming true…" Terra replied, "There is a growing darkness, and the only way to stop it is to find Kingdom Hearts."

"So…you are one of the Kingdom Knights?" Reeve said with keen interest.

"The Kingdom Knight of the Land, I travel currently with the Knights of the Sea and the Sky, along with several other allies, a friend of my nephew Zack's included." Terra replied as Cloud's eyes widened.

"I see…and you believe that Hojo and AUTO have become agents of the darkness?" Reeve asked.

"Yes I do." Terra answered.

"So that's how you found that Al Bhed girl." Cloud said.

"Yes..." Terra nodded, "...we were in Spira where we helped her cousin, a summoner, stop Sin once and for all...she and her cousin decided to come with us."

"So…what now?" Reeve asked.

"Simple…we confront Hojo with the evidence, and if he doesn't come peacefully, we may have to...silence him." Angeal said with a grim look on his face.

"Are you mad Angeal…what you're suggesting is…well…this is madness!" Reeve said as he stood up.

"Madness?" Angeal asked,

"THIS…IS…MIDGAR!!" he shouted as he then turned to Vincent, Terra, and Cloud and gave a nod.

The four prepared their weapons as they headed for the door.

"I won't stand in your way Angeal…but please avoid bloodshed if at all possible." Reeve pleaded as the four warriors left in search of the traitorous Prof. Hojo.

* * *

**Meanwhile down in the slums…**

Our heroes, sans Ven and Rikku, entered Tifa's seventh heaven to find it practically empty save for a woman with raven black hair, a tight white t-shirt, black shorts with attached suspenders, red gloves with the fingers showing, and red boots.

At the edge of the bar was a tall dark skinned man with a Mohawk in a white vest, green khaki pants, and big black boots. His right hand was also made of metal and appeared to be a gun of some sort.

"Hi Tifa!" Aerith said as she entered.

"Aerith good to see you're alright, I was getting worried when you didn't stop in a couple days ago." Tifa replied as Aerith sat down at the bar.

"I've been kind of busy." Aerith said.

"Busy with that Terra guy you've been talking about?" Tifa asked as she cracked a knowing grin.

"In a manner of speaking yes." Aerith replied as Aqua started snickering.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't see you, I'm Tifa and welcome to the Seventh Heaven." Tifa greeted as the three approached.

"Can I get you anything?" Tifa asked.

"Ya got any tea?" Cid asked as he took a seat.

"Which kind?" "Whaddya got?" "Anything you like." "Earl Grey?" "Yep." "Earl Grey decaf." "Coming right up."

Aqua was a bit amused by the dialogue, but then again she is easily amused.

"Tifa I would like you to meet a few friends of mine, this is Yuna, Aqua, and the tea drinker is Cid Highwind." Aerith introduced as the big man at the end eyeballed Cid.

"Yo Cid!" the man yelled.

"Barrett Wallace, that you?" Cid asked as he noticed the big man.

"Cid you old son of a gun how ya been?" Barrett asked.

"Never better and never richer." Cid replied as Aqua, Yuna, and Aerith gave him a suspicious look.

"Uh Cid…ix-nay on the ich-ray." Yuna whispered through clinched teeth.

"Huh…oh sorry…never mind Barrett I forgot the check bounced." Cid replied as Barrett started laughing and the pilot moved down towards him to talk without having to yell.

"Oh Tifa have you seen or heard from a person known as Paine lately?" Aerith asked causing Tifa to pause for a moment.

"No." she answered.

"Oh good…we're trying to find this Paine fellow for Angeal…we think he's been captured by Don Corneo." Aerith said as Tifa started snickering.

"What's so funny?" Aqua asked.

"Paine isn't a guy…Paine is a woman." Tifa replied with a chuckle.

"Do you know what she looks like?" Yuna asked.

"Oh let me see umm…" Tifa said as Barrett interrupted.

"Whoa, whoa Tifa, you mean that silver haired chick that was in here a while ago?" Barrett asked as Tifa nodded "Whoa man she had this black leather thing goin' on and she had this big sword with a…"

"…a skull decal?!" Aqua finished.

"Yeah…oh you probably ran into her already." Barrett said as the four looked at each other with a surprised look on their faces.

"Thanks for the help Tifa…" Aerith said as she put fifty munny on the counter and the four ran for the door, "…keep the change!"

As soon as the door closed behind them, Tifa turned to Barrett.

"Barrett I get the feeling that something big is about to happen soon." Tifa said as Barrett nodded.

"You too Tifa?" he asked.

"Yeah…and I'm not talking just Corneo…I mean the whole city, the slums, the surface, everything." Tifa replied as she walked out from behind the bar.

"I know what you mean…you think they're going to need a hand?" Barrett asked.

"Yeah…is that gun of yours loaded?" Tifa asked back and Barrett nodded.

"Ok then, I'm calling Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie…I think it's time AVALANCHE made its move against the criminal underworld of the Midgar slums." Tifa declared as she reached for the phone.

"Now you're talking Tifa!" Barrett replied.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Ven and Rikku were inside of a clothing store in an area known as the Wall Market, and Rikku had found an interesting ensemble for herself.

It was a single yellow bikini top, a long yellow scarf that when spun around her neck once, both ends would stop just above her ankles. She had also selected a pair of short brown pants, a blue scarf which she wore around her forehead, and a pair of blue and white sneakers.

"How do I look." She asked as Ven just stared at the ceiling.

"Hello?!" she asked.

"I have a bloody nose Rikku, and if I look down it will run down my shirt." He replied…actually he was just being too much of a gentleman to look at Rikku's very revealing attire.

"Oh ok…I'll go start looking for something for Yunie then." Rikku said obliviously as she turned and walked away.

Ven finally lowered his head once he was sure she wasn't looking.

"_I'm a married man, I'm a married man…must not think of Rikku that way…oh man, where's Lu when I need her the most?" _Ven asked himself mentally as he shopped for Aqua, before finally selecting an interesting, blue, one piece garment referred to on the tag as "Lady Luck" and resembled a Las Vegas Casino showgirl's costume, complete with a deck of cards and bag of dice. He had seen Aqua naked before and wasn't at all fazed by it.

"_This will do Aqua nicely…uh oh nose bleed, nose bleed!!" _Ven thought as he saw Rikku approaching out of the corner of his eye and instantly jerked his head up towards the ceiling.

"_I am so gonna get whiplash for this." _He thought.

"Hey Ven I think I found something for Yunie, it looks like it would suit her perfectly." Rikku said as she approached, "You still have that nose bleed?"

"Yes Rikku I do." He said as an arm from neither himself nor Rikku appeared with a handkerchief in hand.

"Here…use this." A familiar feminine voice said as Ven took the hanky and held it to his nose. He then turned to see the silver haired woman from before.

"Oh it's you again." Ven said to the woman.

"Shopping for your daughter?" the woman asked as Rikku giggled.

"Oh her…no she's not my daughter…she's just a friend of mine." Ven replied innocently through the hanky as the woman arched an eyebrow and he instantly realized what she was thinking.

"NO not like that." Ven said as if he could read her mind, "What possessed you to assume we were related?"

"Well you both speak fluent Al Bhed, you don't know what a holo-phone is, your clothes look Spiran, and it makes me assume that you two are both from Spira." She replied.

"Well you're right to a point…she's from Spira, and I'm from another world that isn't as advanced as Midgar." Ven corrected, "Everything else you said just now is correct…which raises another topic…how did you know we were speaking Al Bhed?"

The woman looked around for a moment, insuring that they weren't being listened in upon, before she answered.

"My former mentor taught me how to speak it, he's a member of SOLDIER." She replied.

"Wait…your mentor taught you Al Bhed and is a SOLDIER?" Rikku asked as the woman nodded.

"Does he happen to have long black hair?" Rikku asked as the woman looked at her curiously and nodded again.

"Is your name Paine?" Rikku asked again before the woman clamped Rikku's mouth shut and nodded.

"Ahh…" Ven said quietly, "…your mentor sent us to find you."

"I was afraid of that…my cell-phone broke during my way down so I couldn't contact headquarters to tell them…and I can't risk using a public holo-phone without compromising my position." Paine replied.

"Cell-phone?" Ven asked.

"We SOLDIERS aren't issued holo-phones...it may give away our appearence...so we use Cell-phones." Paine replied.

"Ok...so you never were captured by the bad guys?" Ven asked with some relief as Paine nodded.

"Well now you have back up, your mentor also sent us here to help you complete your objective." Ven said as Paine arched an interested eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked, "Do you even know what my mission is?"

"Yes…" Ven replied as he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "…the capture or annihilation of Don Corneo."

Paine gave him a smile and a nod before putting a finger to her eye and removing a contact lens. Underneath the lens was a single glowing eye, which she quickly covered back up with the lens.

Paine then gave a disgusted look at Rikku who was licking Paine's hand in an effort to make her remove it.

"Uh can we pay for these things? Our friends are going to want them for the 'party." Rikku asked making air quotes when she said party.

"I'm Ven by the way, and she's Rikku." Ven introduced as he still refused to look Rikku's direction while they paid for the garments.

* * *

**End Chapter 20.**

Ok the Lady Luck costume that Ven picked out is one of the FF X-2 dresspheres and Rikku has just picked out her FF X-2 outfit.

Paine is already in her usual outfit.

Oh and Reeve Tuesti is in his DOC costume.


	21. Mad Scientists & Mobsters

On the surface our heroes barged through the hallways towards Professor Hojo's lab.

At the same time, the very weasel they were looking for was speaking with the very same dark visage that Silver had been allied with.

"_I am quite pleased with your results Professor…" _the visage said, _"…the experiment you are proposing however would require a subject that has the perfect genetic make up for it…I'm afraid mako is out of the question…you need to find a skilled fighter untainted by mako energy."_

"I have been speaking with Silver in private and he mentioned that one of the fools that aided in his capture is well skilled with his weapon of choice and does not appear to be infused with mako energy at all." Hojo replied.

"_Hmm…if you can capture this subject, then by all means do so…but we need him alive…our…'guest' will be able to do wonders with her research into the Chaos theory."_ The visage replied as Hojo smirked.

"I will do my best to have him apprehended…just as soon as they bring AUTO to my lab for re-directing." Hojo said as the doors burst open.

"AUTO won't be coming back to you Hojo!" Terra said as he, Angeal, Vincent, and Cloud burst in.

"What?! Who are you?! Angeal who are these men?!" Hojo asked as if he didn't know them, but he recognized Terra and Vincent as the one's his new master was after.

"We have a few questions to ask you Professor." Angeal said as he quickly gave Cloud a head signal to guard the door.

The visage quickly vanished from the computer screen…but not without going un-noticed by Vincent and Terra.

"Who were you talking to?" Terra demanded as he summoned his Keyblade.

"I was dictating notes to a voice recognition dictation program." Hojo lied but they were unconvinced.

"Then where's the microphone?" Vincent asked.

"It's built into the computer." Hojo lied again.

"Prove it…show us your notes…and one false move and our friend with the gun here blows your brains out." Angeal threatened.

"You dare threaten me Angeal?!" Hojo said as if he were offended.

"Oh get off your high horse; we know everything that you've been up to…" Terra said as he held the edge of the Keyblade to the professor's throat, "…upon learning what AUTO found out about myself and my friends mission, you took it upon yourself to contact the one who put in Directive A-1-13, and ally yourself with him and his ilk, you then put in new directives for AUTO, stole a prototype walking machine, and handed both over to the pirate John Silver with a copy of a data disk with all of our information on it, intended for his 'master user' whoever he is."

"I must say that your resourcefulness was unexpected and uncalculated." Hojo said with a scowl, "But to answer a question you had regarding his master user…he identifies himself as Sanzun."

"Sanzun?" Terra and Vincent whispered.

"You know that name?" Angeal asked.

"No we just heard AUTO mention it as the one who put in Directive A-1-13 back when we first confronted him on board the Axiom." Terra answered.

"Well what would you expect from that mechanical blabber mouth." Hojo said as he backed up towards a seemingly empty wall.

"Not another step Hojo." Vincent said as he turned the safety off on Cerberus.

"Ah…ah ha, ha, ha, ha…" Hojo laughed with sinister amusement, "Vincent Valentine I presume?"

Vincent remained silent and tightened his grip on Cerberus.

"I must say you're exactly like the good doctor describes…" Hojo said with a laugh causing Angeal and Terra to furrow their brows, and Vincent to arch a knowing eyebrow, "…yes you know who I mean…Vinnie!!" Hojo laughed.

"Why you son of a…" Vincent snarled, "…WHERE IS SHE?!"

"Oh she's safe…for now." Hojo replied as he threw a vial onto the ground and vanished in a large puff of red smoke.

"Damn it, DAMN that rat (Naughty word)." Vincent snarled as the smoke cleared.

"No time to curse he's getting away!" Angeal said as he swung his buster sword at the wall Hojo was at and quick as a flash the wall fell off as if Angeal had cut clean through it, which he had, revealing a long hallway.

The three gave chase down the hallway hoping to catch the runaway mad scientist.

* * *

**Meanwhile back in the slums…**

Ven, Rikku, and Paine, were heading off back towards Tifa's Seventh Heaven, as Aerith, Yuna, Aqua, and Cid were heading the opposite direction towards the Wall Market…so naturally they encountered each other.

"There your guys are…oh and you found Paine." Aqua said as Paine smirked.

"Nice of you to notice." Paine replied.

"Rikku, what in the name of Yevon, are you wearing?" Yuna asked as Rikku grinned and Ven again looked straight up, and again fearing the onset of whiplash.

"You like it Yunie? Aqua said to find something slutty." Rikku replied as Ven muttered something about this being something called a "Disney story."

"Yeah but I didn't think Ven would let you get away with it." Aqua said with surprise.

"Lyh cusaputo cruud sa huf?" Ven muttered as Rikku giggled and Paine shook her head.

"Sorry I don't have a gun Ven…otherwise I would be happy to shoot you now." Paine replied.

"Oh no not another Al Bhed speaker." Aqua groaned.

"Hey be nice Aqua…or you won't get to see what I got you…and if you breathe a word of my getting you a dress to Lu when this is over…I keel you." Ven said with a fake Spanish accent.

"Who's Lu?" Paine asked.

"His wife." Cid said casually as he smoked his cigar causing Paine to look at Ven with interest as if wondering if he was really being disloyal…Aqua noticed this look and got mad.

"Now hold the phone right there Paine…" Aqua said as she got serious, "…there is one thing I will say for Ven, and that is he's a loyal family man and would never dream of cheating on his wife."

"Thanks for the support Aqua." Ven said as he handed her the Lady Luck dress.

"Anytime buddy…Ooh this looks nice…what are the cards and dice for?" Aqua asked as she looked the dress over.

"I dunno…it came with the dress." Ven answered with a shrug.

"Hey Yunie wanna see what I got you?" Rikku asked as she handed Yuna the dress Rikku got for her.

"Come on people I know where we can change in private." Aerith said as she led the group to an abandoned and run down church with a hole in the roof and bathed in light from a hole in the plate above them.

"This is where my secret flower garden is." Aerith said as they entered the church.

"Wow…I bet it was beautiful in its day." Ven said as Aqua smiled.

"He took architecture in our sophomore year." Aqua said proudly.

Aerith then walked over towards a large hole in the floor revealing a large patch of white flowers growing all throughout it. She then walked towards an empty, old, baby pram with the words "Flowers – 10 munny per flower" on the sides, and picked up a long red dress.

"Geez Aerith what kind of kids do you raise down here?" Aqua joked as she saw the dress, causing Aerith to smirk and shake her head.

"We ladies can change in the old sacristy." Aerith said as she, Yuna, and Aqua paraded back towards a back door with their respective dresses in hand.

"I gotta hand it to that Aerith…she is full of surprises." Cid said from one of the front pews, having extinguished his cigar in the dirt outside, out of respect for the old Church.

"Like her people, she is shrouded in mystery." Paine said causing Cid and Ven to look at her with surprise.

"What do you mean by that?" Ven asked.

"She's a Cetra…almost all of the SOLDIERs who encounter her are debriefed on what she is after their mission is over…it was included in the mission packet that Angeal gave me before I was deployed for this mission." Paine explained.

"Oh." Ven replied.

"What's a Cetra?" Rikku asked as Ven looked back up to avoid looking at her.

"You know Ven you're gonna get whiplash if you keep doing that." Cid said.

"Damm sa ypuid ed." Ven muttered. (Tell me about it.)

"You must really have a real problem with something down here if it causes you to get a nose bleed all the time." Rikku said oblivious to the fact that it was really her.

"Naw…he's just trying to be polite and not look at you because otherwise he'll start to…uh…long for his wife?" Cid asked as Ven rolled his eyes and nodded simultaneously.

"Oh…OH." Rikku replied as she understood what he meant, "Oh geez I'm so sorry Ven…I didn't know...I'll go change if you want me to."

"No, no it is I who should be sorry Rikku. It's just that I've never been away from my wife this long, it's kind of hard on me." Ven said as he finally mustered the courage to look at her.

"Good woman?" Paine asked.

"Incredible." Ven replied with a smile as memories of Lulu flashed in his mind.

"He's got a cute looking little boy too." Rikku added, as Ven pulled out his wallet and flipped to a page with he, Lulu, Sora, and a pair of fingers from outside the picture giving him bunny ears…that was Aqua of course. He smiled as a tear ran down his face.

"A thousand words…" Ven said quietly, "…call out through the ages. They'll fly to you, even though I can't see I know they're reaching you…suspended on silver wings."

As Ven continued Yuna and the women emerged quietly from the back as they listened in quietly.

"Oh a thousand words, one thousand embraces, will cradle you. Making all of your weary days seem far away, they'll hold you forever." Ven finished quietly as Aqua recognized the poem.

"What was that?" Yuna asked as she leaned over to Aqua.

"That was the poem he wrote Lulu on the day he proposed to her." She replied as she noticed a tear running down Ven's face. After a moment Aqua approached him.

"You will return to see her Ven…that I promise you." Aqua said as Ven looked her in the eye and nodded. The two friends then hugged each other for a moment as everyone could feel a touch of sympathy for the man.

"Ok you good?" Aqua asked as Ven nodded then summoned his Keyblade.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He replied as the others nodded.

"Alright chums let's do this!" Cid hollered, "CID HIGHWIND!!" he yelled, spear held high, as he ran towards the doors with the others in tow.

(A/N: Yuna is in her FF X-2 outfit and Aqua is in Paine's Lady Luck dressphere)

A few minutes later Cid and Ven, both looking tough and Ven carrying Paine's sword, and followed by the five women between them, approached a large building called "the Honeybee Inn."

"HALT!" a big man at the front said as they approached, "State your business."

"These gals here are my 'business' if ya get my drift." Cid replied with a cigar hanging from his mouth as the guard smirked and looked the women over with a lustful eye before moving over towards a phone on the wall and picking it up.

"Yo Mooch!" the man said into the phone, "Open up the door foo...Yeah more babes for the boss man."

Finally the doors opened and the guard waved them in as Cid tossed fifty munny into the guard's hand as he passed.

As they entered, they noticed a large number of guards along almost every wall and door. Up against one wall was a line of women standing nervously in slinky outfits. Our heroes were instructed to stand on a large round rug with decorative designs on it.

A moment later a pair of red velvet double doors between two adjoining staircases opened as a big fat man appeared. He had a blond Mohawk with a curl on the front, a large tattoo on the left side of his head looking like a heart with an arrow through it and the word "love" written above it, he also had a short, thin curly mustache. He was wearing a red satin robe, a partially unbuttoned white dress shirt, blue jeans, white dress shoes, carrying a glass of wine and had a lit cigar hanging from his mouth…it was Don Corneo himself.

"Well, Well…" He said as he laid eyes on the five women before him, "…this is a nice assortment."

"All for your enjoyment good sir." Cid replied, he had really gotten into the part.

"I see…" Corneo said as he glanced at Cid, then at Ven, "…you must be pretty desperate to come to me."

"Us?" Aqua asked as she fluttered her eyes.

"All seven of you actually." Corneo said as his smirk vanished, "Do you honestly think that my men didn't see you leave the Seventh Heaven bar?"

Instantly they knew the jig was up but before they could move, every guard had a gun trained on them.

"You are certainly foolish to think you could get away with trying to get in here and kill me." Corneo said with a smirk across his face.

"I dare not ask what's going to happen to us." Yuna said as Corneo smiled sinisterly.

"Oh the men will be executed while, and once I'm through with each of the five of you…you will join them." He said with a laugh as Paine's SOLDIER level hearing kicked in as she heard something clicking from underneath the floor.

Ven quickly came up with what would hopefully be their lifesaver.

"Oh but Mr. Corneo, I assure you that our intentions are strictly honorable." Ven replied.

As soon as he said that, bullets started flying up from the floor in a circle around our heroes and as it became a full circle the floor gave way and our heroes fell through and three black cylinders flew up into the air and exploded in a flash of blinding light and a loud explosion…someone had thrown three flash bang detonators into the room.

Instantly the doors of all the rooms burst open revealing what appeared to be averagely dressed men and women carrying machine guns aimed at all the guards. Our heroes leapt out of the hole followed closely by none other than Barrett and Tifa.

"AVALANCHE!!" Tifa yelled, "DISARM THEM!!"

As the orders left her mouth, every one of the men and women quickly yanked the weapons out of the, still dazed, guards hands and continued to hold them at bay.

"What is going on here?!" Corneo asked as his sight and hearing came back.

"Don Corneo." Paine said as she pulled out her SOLDIER credentials and a pair of electro-shock handcuffs, "By order of Director Lazard Deusericus and Angeal Hewley of the Buy-N-Large Corporation's SOLDIER division, you are here-by placed under arrest."

She then slapped the handcuffs on the now deposed crime boss who just smirked.

"You can't pin a thing on me SOLDIER…I'll walk out of this free as a bird." He scoffed as Paine gave Tifa a nod.

"Then my report is going to have to say I attempted to apprehend you but one of your guards betrayed you, and shot and killed you before I could finish my mission." Paine replied as Tifa handed Paine one of the confiscated weapons and the SOLDIER pointed the gun between the now whimpering Corneo's eyes.

She looked away as she pulled the trigger…

* * *

**Later…**

"So you were the ones killing all the crime bosses in the slums?" Ven said as Tifa nodded.

"Yep, AVALANCHE, was secretly established by myself, Barrett, Cloud, and a few others at Angeal's request to combat the growing crime wave in the slums." Tifa explained, "I'm the sector seven AVALANCHE commander, Barrett was sector eight, Biggs over there sector Six, Wedge sector one, and Jessie sector four…the other sector commanders are still busy working on getting the other sectors under control."

"So you had an organized resistance movement against the crime bosses the whole time?!" Aqua asked as Tifa nodded.

"Yep Cid was even in on it, though he was more of a procurement agent then a full member." Tifa explained, "Cloud served as a messenger between AVALANCHE and what supporters we had on the surface…almost all of SOLDIER being one of them."

"Wow…so now AVALANCHE has complete control of the slums now huh?" Rikku asked.

"Most of it yeah…there are still a few sectors under the control of the remaining lesser crime bosses but they won't be that hard to take out…Corneo was the last of the big ones…no pun intended." Tifa laughed, "I really appreciate the help though."

"What help? We got captured and you rescued us…we were next to no help at all." Aqua replied.

"Actually Paine was sent by Angeal to provide what SOLDIER support, and your getting captured showed us that it was time to make our final move against the criminal underworld." Tifa answered.

"Well I guess we better be heading back up then…glad we could help." Aerith said with a nod.

"But can we get out of these clothes first, I feel pretty weird traipsing around like a showgirl everywhere." Aqua said as Ven snickered.

"A lil' too late for that don't you think?" Ven asked as Aqua simply blew him a raspberry and walked off with Aerith, Yuna, and Rikku towards the abandoned church to change back into their normal clothes.

"Are you two together?" Tifa asked after watching the interaction between Ven and Aqua.

"Why does everyone assume that Aqua and I are a couple?!" Ven asked, "Wait…don't answer that."

* * *

**End Chapter 21.**

I know it's a bit graphic for a Disney thing but hey…I've seen worse when it comes to KH Fanfiction…much worse.

Also the poem Ven is reciting may sound familiar to those who have played FF X-2.


	22. A Final Farewell

The three warriors ran through the winding tunnels after the evil Professor in an effort to stop him from escaping to his new employer.

"Who was that person he was talking about Vincent?" Terra asked as they ran.

"My old flame…Dr. Lucrecia Crescent…she vanished without warning almost a year ago, we've been investigating her disappearance ever since." Vincent replied.

"Was she working on something that would have attracted anyone's attention?" Angeal asked.

"The only thing I can think of was her Chaos theory…but even she was skeptical about that." Vincent replied.

"What's the Chaos theory!?" Angeal asked.

"Something about a harbinger for something called Omega." Vincent replied.

"What's Omega!?" Terra asked.

"I wish I knew…but she never got a chance for her to explain it to me." Vincent answered as they rounded a corner to find Hojo standing in the middle of a small round landing platform.

"Hold it right there Hojo!!" Vincent said as he aimed Cerberus at the mad scientist. Suddenly Angeal's SOLDIER instincts kicked in and turned with his buster sword just in time to block a savage blow from a mysterious armored foe above him.

"Angeal!" Terra said as he then noticed the weapon the warrior was using.

It was long and black; with a round red part on the end…it was a Keyblade. The warrior masterfully leapt off of the large sword and landed next to the scientist.

"STOP!!" Vincent yelled as the warrior grabbed Hojo with his free hand and instantly a black portal of sorts appeared around them

"VINCENT WAIT!!" Terra yelled as the Turk ran towards the portal. But his call fell on deaf ears as Vincent ran straight through the portal and vanished.

"VINCENT!!" Terra yelled as he ran towards the portal but it disappeared just as he was about to pass through it.

"No…" Terra said as he dropped to his knees. "He can't be gone…he's got to be out there somewhere."

"Wherever he went…I fear it can't be good." Angeal said as he put his hand on Terra's shoulder.

"I'll find him…and I'll bring him back alive…I promise." Terra replied as he clinched his fist and finally let out an agonized yell.

* * *

**Later…**

Terra, Angeal, Cloud, and Zack (now in a small 3rd class SOLDIER uniform with a small sword in a sheath on his back) had returned to the gummy ship where the other group had recently returned from the slums and having changed from their "dresses" back to their usual attire, and were being informed of what had transpired earlier. Terra had just reached the part of the mysterious warrior…

"He came out of nowhere, and then he jumped around, grabbed Hojo, and created this black portal thing around them." Terra explained, "I tried to stop him but Vincent ran straight into the portal and vanished with them."

"What…you mean Vincent's…" Aqua asked as Terra mournfully finished,

"M.I.A." (Missing in Action)

"Spira ryja sanlo." Rikku muttered in shock. (Spira have mercy.)

"He may still be alive for all we know." Angeal added.

"But one thing is certain…with Hojo amongst them…our enemy now knows the very information we have struggled to keep from them…our families may now be in grave danger." Terra said as Aqua and Ven looked at each other with a look of dread.

"What can we do?" Aqua asked with a tear running down her face at the thought of Kairi becoming a victim of the darkness they faced.

"I don't know…but we need to find a way to protect them and keep them safe." Angeal replied.

"Perhaps I may be of some assistance." Yen Sid said as he appeared in his traditional flash of light.

"How master…they probably know where the islands are and maybe heading straight towards them as we speak." Ven asked.

"I have foreseen this possibility…" Yen Sid said as he waved his hands causing a large glowing sphere to appear before them, what it showed was the Destiny Islands in broad daylight with every person they saw asleep exactly where they were, "…and I have taken the necessary precautions."

"What is it?" Mickey asked.

"It is a sleeping spell that I have cast on the whole Island, with the exception for Lulu and Wakka." Yen Sid answered. "They, as well as Tidus, Sora, Riku, and Kairi, have been magically transported to Disney Castle, where they will be kept well hidden due to the world's deep emersion in light."

"Won't the four of them wake up?" Yuna asked as Yen Sid shook his head.

"No. They will remain asleep and attended to by Lulu and Wakka until I end the spell." Yen Sid answered.

"Disney Castle?!" Mickey said in surprise, "I can have my friends their help protect them too!" Mickey said as Yen Sid nodded.

"That was my intention Mickey." The wizard replied.

"I mean no offence Mickey but why is your world so important?" Ven asked.

"Because we have the Cornerstone to protect us from the darkness." Mickey answered.

"The what?" Zack asked.

"The Cornerstone of Light, a magical orb made of pure light, supposedly taken from Kingdom Hearts itself by the Cetra, we keep it in the basement of the castle."

"Then I guess out of courtesy we should head that way to check up on the sleeping beauties." Cid suggested as Ven, Aqua, Terra, and Zack looked hopeful.

"Can we?!" Aqua asked eagerly as Yen Sid thought a moment and finally nodded with a smile.

"**YES!!"** The four shouted.

"CID!! Hit those coordinates for Disney Castle and let's get out of here!!" Aqua shouted as Angeal signaled to wait.

"Hang on, before you leave…" Angeal said as he turned to the three SOLDIERs next to him, "Zack, I'm authorizing you and Cloud a temporary leave of absence to visit Disney Castle."

Angeal then turned to Yen Sid.

"Will you do me a favor master and bring them back for me?" Angeal asked the wizard who nodded with a smile as Angeal then turned back to Paine.

"Paine I am ordering you to go with these guys and help them out in their mission anyway you can." Angeal ordered as Paine nodded and saluted which Angeal returned.

"What about you Angeal?" Terra asked.

"I must stay here incase anything happens…the company is already going mad trying to figure out what all just happened…and I need to create a believable cover story for the higher ups." Angeal replied, "However director Lazard is a good and trusted friend…that and he owes me more than one favor."

"Be careful Angeal!" Terra said as the SOLDIER nodded.

"You too guys…and I hope you find Vincent." Angeal replied and disembarked through the hatch on the roof.

"Cid…get to those controls and let's go!" Terra ordered as Cid saluted and ran for the control room.

* * *

**A few minutes later…**

Yen Sid had created a portal leading directly to Disney Castle as to hide their destination from any tracking devices that may had been planted, and the Gummy ship was now around the world's orbit.

In the throne room a flash of light signaled the arrival of Mickey and a few of our heroes, namely the three Knights, Zack, Cloud, Yuna, Rikku, and Kimahri.

"Oh Mickey you're back!" a high pitched female mouse in a purple ball dress said as she ran towards the apprentice.

"Minnie, gosh it's great to see ya." Mickey said as Minnie quickly kissed him on the cheek causing the apprentice to blush.

"Everyone this is Minnie Mouse…my uh…queen to be." Mickey introduced nervously.

"Whoa, whoa back up…" Aqua said, "…you're a King?"

"A prince actually…the people chose me to be the King of Disney castle as long as I completed my apprenticeship with Master Yen Sid first…when that's done they will make me King and Minnie will be my queen." Mickey explained.

"Wow…hope you make King soon then." Ven said as Mickey blushed.

"Your majesty!!" a voice yelled as a dog like creature carrying a large round shield and accompanied by a duck like creature carrying a magic wand appeared from a large square hole in the floor beneath the throne and jumped the Mouse.

"Goofy…Donald!!" Mickey said with a smile as he hugged the two.

"Are you a King yet your highness?!" Goofy asked as Mickey shook his head.

"Aww phooey." Donald replied clearly having been growing impatient.

"Your Majesty something strange has happened…this big flash of light appeared in the Hall of the Cornerstone and these six people appeared and four of them were just young lil' guys and were fast asleep while one of them was wide awake and the other one was a tall woman in black and throwing magic at us!" Goofy explained.

"Uh that's why we're here." Aqua said.

"Huh?" Goofy asked as he turned, and then noticed the master wizard, "MASTER YEN SID!!"

"Be calm Goofy…there is nothing to fear from the people down there…they seek the protection of this world's light from the growing darkness." Yen Sid explained.

"Oh." Donald answered as Yen Sid turned to the heroes.

"I shall do you one kindness; I shall temporarily lift the spell that made your children forget about you, allowing you to say whatever you wish to them." Yen Sid said as his hat started to glow and the group, sans Mickey and Yen Sid, walked down the staircase in the floor to the Hall of the Cornerstone.

As they approached, the familiar laughter of Sora, Riku and Kairi was heard as they saw the three chasing each other around a large white room with a glowing sphere in the center, in a game of tag with Tidus and Wakka as Lulu watched facing away from the door with a large grin on her face.

Ven instinctively put his hands over Lulu's eyes from behind, and when she turned around…

"Surprise." Ven whispered as they embraced in a deep passionate kiss.

"Hey look it's my daddy!!" Sora yelled as he spotted his father.

"And my Mom!!" Kairi yelled as Aqua ran towards her and lifted her into the air in one big hug.

"DAD!! COUSIN ZACK!!" Riku yelled as the white haired boy ran towards them.

"Yo Yuna, Rikku, Kimahri!!" the young Wakka said as he ran up to the three Spirans with Tidus in toe.

"So are you coming home yet dad?" Sora asked as Ven shook his head.

"Sorry son but I'm afraid I'm going to be gone a lot longer than I expected…a good friend of mine disappeared today." Ven replied as Lulu silently wondered who it was.

"Really?" Sora asked as Ven nodded, "Is he ok?"

"I wish I knew." Ven replied.

"What's his name?" Sora asked.

"His name is Vincent." Ven replied as Lulu's face turned to shock.

"No. Not Vincent?" Lulu asked as Ven nodded sadly.

"We don't know if he's d-e-a-d or not but he's probably wishing he was." Ven answered as Lulu begged the powers that be that he was ok.

"Hey Riku check out my eyes." Zack said to his cousin as he knelt down to one knee.

"Whoa…they glow!" Riku said as Zack smirked, "Just like Clouds'."

"Yep I'm a proud member of SOLDIER now, complete with mako eyes." Zack replied.

"COOL!" Riku declared, "Do you have a buster sword yet?"

"Not yet but I do have a regular sword." Zack said as he drew the sword from the sheath on his back, "…and I have Angeal Hewley as my trainer."

"Wow…Hey can I hold your sword?" Riku asked as Zack shook his head.

"No Riku it's too dangerous…swords are not toys." Zack said, surprising Terra in the process with his mature demeanor.

"Zack is right son…swords are not toys." Terra said as he knelt down, "…and who knows maybe you will get to become a great hero like Angeal and Cloud."

"Or you uncle Terra." Zack replied as Terra thought for a moment, he really hadn't thought of himself as a hero.

"I'm no hero." Terra replied with a smirk as Terra arched a disbelieving eyebrow as if saying "I know better than that."

"Are you kidding? The way you beat up that big dragon thing Sin, you were awesome!!" Zack said as Riku got excited.

"What happened dad!!" Riku asked.

"Well, sit down and I'll tell you." Terra said as he sat down and started regaling the young Riku about his and his friend's adventure in Spira.

"Mommy why did you leave with mister Ven?" Kairi asked innocently.

"I didn't want to sweetie…I had to, so I could keep you safe and sound from any mean old monsters that would want to hurt you." Aqua replied…she was an entirely different person when she was with Kairi.

"Really." Kairi asked.

"Yes sweetie." Aqua said as a tear ran down her face.

"Why are you crying?" Kairi asked innocently again.

"Because I'm going to have to leave you again sweetheart." Aqua replied as Kairi quickly reached in her pocket and held up a folded piece of paper.

"I drew you this when I woke up." Kairi said as Aqua took the piece of paper and unfolded it to reveal a coloring of herself, Kairi, and a red haired person in black.

"Who's this sweetie?" Aqua asked as she pointed to the red haired person.

"That's daddy." Kairi replied with a smile causing Aqua to look at her concerned.

"Daddy? When did you see Daddy?" Aqua asked.

"This morning, he said he was hoping to see me again." Kairi replied as Aqua became breathless.

"What was his name?" Aqua asked eagerly.

"Mune." Kairi replied as Aqua sat flat on her rear in shock.

"Did I just hear what I thought I just heard?" Ven asked as he scurried over towards her, "Mune is alive?!"

"Alive…and apparently still around on the islands." Aqua replied as Kairi shook her head and pointed at a strange black triangle with yellow stripes and a blue streak in the back in the sky above the trio.

"No…he said he came from the stars…and he lives in a place called…umm…" Kairi thought for a moment, and then it came to her, "…Notre Dame."

"Notre Dame…Ven we have got to go there...where ever it is" Aqua said eagerly as she shook him by the collar.

"Hey the day I keep you from Mune is the day the underworld freezes over." Ven replied.

"Does this mean that you're going away again?" Sora asked.

"Yes son I am…but I want you to look after your mother and Kairi ok?" Ven replied.

"Ok dad." Sora said as he walked up next to Kairi, "I will."

"Hey Lulu…" Yuna said as she approached the former guardian, "…I heard Ven reciting a poem called 'a thousand words' a while ago…does it mean anything to you?"

"Oh yes…very much so." Lulu replied, "He wrote it for me on the day he proposed to me...but it wasn't intended to be a poem."

"What was it?" Yuna asked as Lulu twirled her hand and a folded piece of paper appeared in her hand.

"It was supposed to be a song…Aqua's husband Mune was going to write the music for it eventually but he vanished before he could." Lulu replied.

"Hey could I borrow that for a while…I do have some talent with music, perhaps I could compose the music for him." Yuna asked as Lulu nodded with a smile and handed the paper to her.

"Feel free to tweak the wording slightly…but don't take away the symbolism." Lulu replied as Yuna nodded and then hugged her childhood friend as Yen Sid appeared in the door way signaling that it was time to say goodbye again.

"Goodbye son…make me proud." Terra said as he hugged Riku for the last time.

"Bye dad…we'll see each other again…even if it takes ten years right?" Riku replied with a tear as Terra nodded and stood up to rejoin the others.

"Sora remember what I told you…you're the man of the house…now be good for your mother and watch after Kairi." Ven told his son in mid-hug.

"I will…it's a promise." Sora replied with a big smile as Ven rejoined the others.

"Be safe Kairi…and don't you worry about any mean old monsters in your closet…they're just as scared of you as you are them." Aqua said with a sad smile.

"I will mommy." Kairi said with a smile as Aqua pocketed the picture and hugged the girl for a moment before finally letting go and joining the others. Then like magic, all four of the youngsters headed towards the Cornerstone of Light. They simultaneously laid down and instantly fell asleep, a small light appeared from their hearts, Sora's headed towards the crown necklace in Lulu's pocket, Kairi's towards the lucky charm around her neck, and Riku's towards Zack, signifying that their memories of their parents and family had returned to the roots set in place for them.

"Well uncle Terra…I guess it's time to say goodbye again." Zack said as he turned to his uncle.

"I guess so…remember to obey Angeal and your superior officers' ok?" Terra said as Zack saluted.

"Yes Sir…I'll make you proud." Zack replied.

"Who knows…maybe someday we will get to fight alongside each other, and maybe with Riku at our side as well." Terra said as Zack nodded and Cloud put his arm around the boy as Yen Sid's hat glowed causing the two to vanish back to Midgar in a flash of blue light.

Mickey then appeared and nodded to them. They nodded back as Mickey twirled his hand and they vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Welcome young sir." An unfamiliar voice in the darkness greeted sinisterly.

"Who's there, where am I?" Vincent asked.

"In a place you'll wish you never were Vincent." Another yet feminine voice replied, but this one was familiar to him.

"Lucrecia…where are you?!" Vincent asked.

"Right here." She replied as a brown haired woman in a blue dress shirt with white frills, a blue skirt, red heels, and a large white lab coat emerged from the darkness.

"Lucrecia!" Vincent yelled as Hojo emerged behind her with Cerberus pointed at him, Vincent checked his holster to find it empty.

"How romantic of you…" He said with a sinister look on his face, "…to find both yourself and your beloved, as prisoners within a place where 'miracles' happen." He laughed as Lucrecia cowered in fear, as a dark woman with black horns and carrying a golden staff with a green orb on the top appeared followed by the dark warrior from before.

"And welcome to your new life as the greatest experiment in science and magic since the discovery of Mako energy." Hojo announced.

Suddenly lights behind them flickered on to reveal a large water filled tank with both scientific and magical equipment organized around it causing Vincent to back away in genuine fear.

"Your new life as…the Spirit of Chaos." Hojo laughed as the dark warrior suddenly appeared behind him and knocked him back out.

"LET THE EXPERIMENT BEGIN!!" was the last thing he heard Hojo shout as his eyes closed.

* * *

**End Chapter 22.**

I bet you know what's going to happen next with Vincent.


	23. The Mystery Continues

Back on the gummy ship Ven, Terra, and Aqua's mood was noticeably somber but their determination could be felt by all.

They had been teleported to Radiant Garden thanks to Master Yen Sid.

"You know…" Paine said as she spared with Terra in the cargo hold, "…at first I didn't know why Angeal assigned me to you guys…but after talking with Cid…I'm glad he did."

"Yeah it's nice to have another Midgar native and fellow BNL employee to talk shop with." Terra replied as Aerith entered with the Sheppard's journal, just as Terra knocked Paine's sword away.

"Wow…I didn't know I had that kind of skill." Terra said seriously.

"It's the Keyblade…I'm not surprised." Paine said as she retrieved her sword from across the room.

"So what Yen Sid said about my powers lying dormant…also meant skill too." Terra said as he examined the Keyblade.

"Mmm Hmm." Aerith said with a nod, "The Keyblades all work that way."

"Being a Cetra you should know." Paine replied as Aerith nodded.

"Wait…how did you know she was a Cetra?" Terra asked.

"Because we've met…I had to tell your friends that it was in a mission packet to deny that we had met." Paine replied.

"Wait…you two know each other?" Terra asked as the two women nodded.

"Yep…we were next door neighbors growing up in the slums." Paine replied.

"Huh…who'd a thought it…well if you'll excuse me, Aerith and I have a meeting with Ansem the Wise and Verdot of the Turks…we have some bad news to break them." Terra said as he took Aerith's hand and headed for the bridge.

* * *

**Later…**

"…and I'm sorry to report sirs that Vincent Valentine is M.I.A." Terra said reluctantly to Ansem and Verdot.

It was the three Knights, Aerith, Mickey, Verdot and Ansem the Wise in the Wiseman's study.

"Vincent…" Ansem said as he leaned back in shock.

"He was a good Turk…he will be remembered well." Verdot said as Terra got angry.

"We don't know he's dead yet so you can just hold the funeral!" Terra growled as Aqua and Ven attempted to quell his anger.

"Then where do you suggest we look for him?" Verdot asked with a hint of impatience at Terra's outburst.

"I don't know but I'm not going to let my friend be listed as dead by his own people!" Terra yelled at Verdot as Ansem shot up out of his chair.

"SILENCE!!" he shouted causing the two to shut up.

"I must side with Terra, we cannot have him listed as dead…for all we know he may still be alive." Ansem said as the two both nodded.

"Wait…" Terra said as he remembered something, "…When we were confronting Hojo…Hojo mentioned something…or more appropriately, someone from Vincent's past…a woman named Lucrecia Crescent."

"Dr. Crescent?!" Ansem and Aqua asked in unison.

"How do you know of her?!" Ansem asked the blue haired Knight.

"Because Vince and I were getting…close, before he vanished, and he told me about her." Aqua replied.

"Vincent also mentioned something about some theory that she had concocted…" Terra added.

"The Chaos theory?!" Ansem asked as he leaned on his desk.

"Yes exactly." Terra replied as Ansem started rubbing his forehead.

"I'm afraid that may have been what caused her to vanish." Ansem said as he sat down.

"What is the Chaos theory sir?" Ven asked as Ansem stood up and put his hands behind his back.

"The Chaos theory is more of a myth…it is believed that Chaos, a beast that is a hybrid of dark magic, science, and alchemy, will arise to serve as the warning of impending doom by the coming darkness." Ansem explained as Aerith scratched her head.

"I remember something in the Sheppard's journal mention something about chaos…that he could be created by comparatively simpler technology and a being of incredible dark power, but any artificial means to create him would be flawed as he would still retain some sense of sentience so long as he is given a highly important energy orb called a proto-materia." Aerith explained.

"Materia?!" Ansem asked as he turned away in thought for a moment then snapped his fingers.

"Hmm…there is a girl in town who is quite knowledgeable when it comes to materia…she's the girlfriend of a bright young man who would make an excellent scientist, Ienzo I think his name is…and the girlfriend's name eludes me at the moment…I believe it starts with a Y." Ansem said.

"Uh sir I hate to break it to you but I'm afraid you mean that she's quite knowledgeable about stealing materia." Verdot corrected as Ansem nodded.

"Yes, I was mistaken, my apologies." Ansem said.

"Well we don't have any good leads on where to start looking for Vincent anyway." Ven said as Mickey shrugged.

"Welp…at least we know that Aqua's husband may still be alive." Mickey said as Ansem looked at the Mouse intently.

"Wait…her husband?!" He asked.

"Yeah…he's been missing too; he just vanished without a trace one day like Lucrecia." Aqua replied, "But we have reason to believe that he's living in a world called Notre Dame."

"Notre Dame isn't a world; it's a place inside of a world." Verdot replied.

"What world is it?" Aqua asked eagerly.

"It's called Paris…it's where Rufus Ansem likes to go sometimes…in fact if I'm correct, He and four of the Turks are there right now." Verdot answered, as he pressed a button on his watch.

"Lionheart report to the Study immediately." Verdot ordered and soon a tall young man about Cloud's age with brown hair, a large scar on his face, wearing a Turk uniform, and carrying a hybrid between a sword and a gun in his hand, entered.

"Squall which one of Rufus's Turks are with him?" Verdot asked the young Turk.

"Tseng, his protégé Elena, Reno, and Rude I believe." Squall replied as a younger, blond haired, male Turk with a mullet, and a scar just like Squall's entered.

"Sir I would like to file a protest against Lionheart's confiscation of my gunblade!" the blond Turk said.

"Squall Lionheart is your instructor Mr. Almasy…" Verdot informed, "…and he has the right to confiscate it if he deems necessary."

"Sir he stole one of the experimental youth serums that Professor Even was working on." Squall reported as Verdot shook his head.

"Now isn't the time you two, now get going…" Verdot said as he started to shoo the two young Turks out of the room.

"Experimental Youth serum eh?" Aqua asked with interest.

"Dryd'c dra mycd drehk fa haat...y ouihkan, ajah suna robanyldeja Aqua." Ven muttered. (That's the last thing we need...a younger, even more hyperactive Aqua.)

"E xieda yknaa." Verdot replied, causing Aqua to groan at the thought of yet another Al Bhed speaker. (I quite agree.)

"I think it would do us well if we checked out Paris for any sign of my husband." Aqua said as Ansem thought for a moment.

"What was the name of your husband?" he asked.

"Mune." She replied.

"How did you get the knowledge of Mune's location?" Ansem asked.

"Believe it or not, my daughter Kairi, of all people, said he came to visit her and told her where he lived." Aqua said as Ansem thought hard for a moment.

"Terra…what did you say the name was of the person who programmed AUTO with directive A-1-13 was?" Ansem asked.

"Sanzun, Why?" Terra replied.

"I remembered Rufus telling me he met a man named Sanzun in Paris a while ago…tall man red hair." Ansem explained.

"Wait Mune has red hair…you don't think…" Aqua interrupted.

"I'm not finished yet so don't jump to conclusions…" Ansem said before Aqua could finish, "…Rufus also said that the man claimed to have a brother named Mune, a twin brother I might add."

"I don't remember Mune saying he had a brother." Aqua replied.

"It may not even be the same Mune for all we know Aqua." Ven said as Aqua shook her head.

"I doubt it…how many people do you know named Mune?" Aqua asked.

"She has a point." Ven replied.

"I'm afraid the only way to solve this mystery is to go to Paris for yourselves and find out…you're going to want to meet up with my son Rufus at the Royal Crown Inn near the Cathedral there." Ansem instructed as the five nodded.

"Good luck…and I hope you find your husband Aqua…as well as Vincent." Verdot said as the five then vanished in a blink of light.

* * *

**Later…**

Ansem had transferred the latest star map to the Fahrenheit and they had been on the way for Paris for almost an hour.

Ven was passing Aqua's room and noticed something as he passed…something he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Aqua…what are you doing?" he asked as he peaked in.

"I want Mune to recognize me the way I was when he last saw me…and that was when I was pregnant." She replied as Ven gaped at the vision of Aqua flatting her hair. The spikes had been replaced with a smooth hair style that followed the curve of her head and she was trimming it to where the longest point barely touched her shoulder blade. (A/N: If you watch the Birth by Sleep trailer on YouTube, and look at Aqua's hairstyle in the video…then you will see what she looks like now.)

"Sorry I won't help in the pregnancy department…I went through both you and Lu being pregnant at once and I would rather have Lu be pregnant again than you, thank you very much." Ven said as Aqua snickered.

"Coward." She replied, "But, I meant the way I looked without the bump…moron."

"So…you've gone flat? You've sprung a leak?" Ven asked.

"Oh good one…" Aqua said as she smiled at her image in the mirror, "…I only heard you asking me that for a whole week after Kairi was born."

"Hey I was severely deprived of my 'torture Aqua' time while you were pregnant." Ven replied with a smirk as Aqua stood up to face him.

"You know…I also recall that this was how my hair was when we were dating." She said as she looked at him seductively.

"You're right." Ven replied nervously…He still had a small spark of attraction towards the blue haired woman…especially now that her hair had curves again.

"Am I making you nervous?" She asked.

"A little bit." He replied. Then she smirked and kissed him on the cheek as she passed by.

"_Red area, red area, red area…Ven snap out of it…she's your best friend, and you are both married...to different people." _Ven argued with himself as he went towards the bridge and laid down on one of the cushioned seats against the wall with a sigh.

"Oui ug Ven?" Rikku asked from out of nowhere, (You ok Ven?)

"(Hyikrdo Funt)!!" Ven yelled in surprise, (Translated: (Naughty Word)

"Tu oui gecc Lulu fedr dryd suidr?!" Rikku asked with a giggle from the seat across the room. (Do you kiss Lulu with that mouth?!)

"Hey can we keep the Al Bhed to a minimum?" Cid fussed from the pilot seat.

"Sorry Cid." Ven replied as he turned to look at Rikku, she had changed back into her "Corneo suit" as she had dubbed it, causing Ven to put his head to his forehead in frustration.

"Oh sorry I forgot how these clothes make you feel." Rikku said apologetically.

"No, no…" Ven groaned, "…don't take them off on my account."

Cid turned around and glanced at the two.

"Rikku…leave for a moment…it sounds like Ven and I need to have a man to man chat." Cid said as Rikku shrugged and left the room.

"Ven!" Cid said as he got out of the pilot seat and sat down on the floor next to Ven's head facing away from the man, "You look like a man who is going through a serious ethical crisis."

"How would you know?" Ven asked.

"Simple…you remember the brunette back in Midgar that I spoke with privately after that whole Sin incident?" Cid asked as Ven sat up slightly.

"Shera, right?" Ven asked as Cid nodded.

"Well…" Cid said as he put a cigar in his mouth, "…believe it or not…I've been married to her for three years."

Ven's eyes shot wide open.

"You're kidding?" he asked.

"Nope…got married kind of on spur of the moment after an interesting story…" Cid replied as he lit the cigar.

"What happened?" Ven asked.

"Well…we were both working on building an experimental gummy ship for a bunch of egg heads in our homeworld…her being one of said egg heads…" Cid replied as he exhaled a mouthful of smoke, "…and I was going to test pilot the ship."

"I'm with you so far…" Ven said.

"Well…Shera catches me on the day of the test launch and keeps yammering about something with the oxygen tanks and begs me to abort the launch…which I ignore." Cid says as Ven arches an eyebrow.

"Oxygen tanks on a gummy ship?!" Ven asked.

"Hey in my homeworld, our gummy ships are built more for the firepower than luxury." Cid replied as he continued, "Well we are seconds away from launch and I'm strapped in my seat and I noticed a life form onboard and low and behold it's Shera in the oxygen tank room."

"Uh Cid…help out the technologically challenged…uh…how is that a bad thing?" Ven asked.

"The oxygen tanks would be mixed with a gas that ignites when it comes into contact with pure oxygen, the resulting blast provides the ship with the initial thrust needed to achieve orbit." Cid answered as Ven nodded and signaled to go on.

"Well…she's fiddling with one of the tanks and I am confronted with either frying her to a crisp if she's right or shutting it down and saving her life." Cid continued.

"And you fried her to a crisp." Ven said jokingly with a smile as Cid jumped up and pretended to prepare to strike the man before he sat down.

"No…now shut up and listen." Cid replied as he was losing patience, "Well after that incident I couldn't have been more infuriated with her than I was then and I treated her like absolute dirt…worse part is she took it without question. Well a few weeks later they decide to retry the launch…without her…and when I hit the button to fire the rockets…those blasted tanks blew up!"

"You mean she was right?!" Ven asked.

"Turns out that the rubber like material used to fasten the tanks to the exhaust valves in the tank room wasn't strong enough to resist the high pressure of the oxygen in the tanks and would burst when the gas ignited." Cid explained as he shook his head with a smirk, "Boy I was so miserable from how I had treated her I apologized to her for weeks, I mean taking her to dinner, buying her jewelry, flowers, peanut butter candies…"

Ven was about to ask something when Cid predicted his question.

"She's allergic to cocoa beans…which is one reason why I drink tea…" Cid answered, "Then one day I stop and realize that I'm in love with this woman…so I take her on vacation to this nice luxury world and I pop the question to her right there on the beach…we got married two days before we went back home and the rest is history."

"Nice story but what does that have to do with my predicament?" Ven asked.

"Well you've noticed how Shera is never with us right?" Cid asked as Ven nodded, "Well it's not that we wanna be away from each other…more like something we can't avoid with our respective jobs…she's a representative for the 'Rocket Town Gummy ship company' by the way…and as I travel I see a lot of rather attractive women…even more so since the start of this lil' adventure…so I had to come up with a way to 'cool the jets' as it were."

Ven looked at him with an interested look now.

"Wanna know my secret?" Cid asked as Ven nodded, "I just don't use the heating when it comes to the shower…or my room's thermostat…that and I keep a framed picture of Grandma Highwind next to my bed…it really gets creepy some nights with that woman just staring at you."

"Wait…cold showers, cold rooms, and a picture of your grandma?!" Ven asked.

"Yeah it probably wouldn't work for you…I'm guessing you don't have a photo of Grandma Ven with you." Cid replied as he inhaled on his cigar.

"No I got the photo I was just getting my facts straight." Ven replied in all seriousness as Cid went bug eyed as the ship lurched out of hyperspace and a display screen read "Hyperdrive failure."

"Ugh not again." Cid mumbled.

* * *

**End Chapter 23.**


	24. A Day in Space

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen I give you the ever annoying space filler chapter…

* * *

The hyperdrive had died half way to Paris and as a result they would have to fly a whole day and a half just to get there on sublight drives.

Ven had taken Cid's advice and had taken a cold shower that following morning...unfortunately Cid had neglected to inform Ven of the fact that water freezes quickly in space. Ven emerged from his quarters with what appeared to be an icicle hanging from his hair.

He trudged down to the mess hall, but as he approached he could hear what sounded like a piano and someone singing. The tune was rather soft and slow in a beautiful melody, he couldn't quite place who it was singing but it was someone familiar.

He peaked inside to see Yuna sitting at a piano in a storage room next to the mess hall. He paused as he listened to the words…

"_I know that you're hiding things  
Using gentle words to shelter me  
Your words were like a dream  
But dreams could never fool me  
Not that easily"_

"_I acted so distant then  
Didn't say goodbye before you left  
But I was listening  
You'll fight your battles far from me  
Far too easily"_Before she could continue someone dropped something in the mess hall which shattered and caused her to stop. As she turned around she saw Ven in the doorway.

"Save your tears cause I'll come back  
I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door  
But still I swore  
To hide the pain when I turn back the pages  
Shouting might have been the answer  
What if I'd cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart  
But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart"

"Ven…good morning." She said innocently and silently prayed that he didn't see the chorus written on the page.

"Morning…" He replied, "Keep going it was sounding pretty good."

"Oh it's not finished yet." Yuna replied with a nervous chuckle as he arched an interested eyebrow.

"Really you mean you're writing it?!" Ven asked as Yuna gave a meager shrug, "Oh I wish I could remember that poem I wrote for Lulu when I proposed to her but I can only remember a small smattering of it."

"Maybe it will come back to you…but if you don't mind I don't like it when people listen in on me composing…it throws off the creative flow." She said as Ven nodded and headed for the mess hall.

"_That was too close…he almost found out about my using his poem for a song…oh well I hope he gets to hear it someday…and I really hope he likes it."_ Yuna thought quietly as she left the room but paused as she heard…

"VEN WATCH OUT FOR THE!!" "YEAOWWW!!" "…broken glass."

Yuna burst into mess hall to see Ven sitting in one of the chairs cradling his foot with large blood soaked shards of glass sticking out of it…he had neglected to wear shoes out of his room. Terra, the one who had shouted the failed warning, grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink.

Yuna shrugged and magically summoned her summoner wand, and proceeded to cast curaga on his foot, causing the shards to dislodge themselves and hit the floor harmlessly as his foot magically healed itself.

"Wow, thanks Yuna…you're gonna have to teach me that someday." Ven said as he carefully avoided the broken glass and headed towards his room as Terra grabbed a broom and dust pan to sweep up the bits.

Ven returned moments later fully dressed.

"Say Yuna, how exactly does summoning work?" Ven asked as he proceeded to do what he had intended to before turning his foot into Swiss cheese…get a cup of coffee.

"It really depends on the world you go to…Aeons are native to Spira and can only obey a true summoner." Yuna explained, "But there are some summoned creatures that can be summoned by merely possessing a special pendant."

"What sort of pendant?" Terra asked.

"Well…" Yuna replied with a shrug, "I dunno."

"Fro tet cusauha ryja du clnays yht fyga sa ib?" Rikku asked tiredly as she entered wearing a large fussy bathrobe and carrying a stuffed chocobo under her arm. (Why did someone have to scream and wake me up?)

"Cunno Rikku ed fyc yh ylletahd." Ven replied as he sipped his coffee. (Sorry Rikku it was an accident.)

"She's used to sleeping in back in Besaid." Yuna added as Aqua entered almost as sleepily…which Ven always knew meant either one of two things…

A – She was "busy" last night with a guy.

Or

B – She couldn't get any sleep for some reason or another.

He mentally guessed…and prayed it was B.

"You ok Aqua?" Ven asked.

"I couldn't sleep last night…damn heating broke and I was shivering all night…even with the blankets." Aqua grumbled.

"_It was B!!" _Ven rejoiced mentally.

"Oh…funny, I shut mine off and I was fine." Ven said as Aqua gave him a death glare.

"That's possibly because you're element isn't water…and therefore isn't prone to freezing as easily." She replied.

"Would the cold temperature account for your hair going flat?" Terra asked as Aqua remembered that her hair was indeed flat; she had forgotten that she had de-spiked it last night.

"No I flattened it last night so if Mune sees me, he might recognize me easier." Aqua replied.

"Care to explain that?" Terra asked confused.

"The last time he saw me, I was seven months pregnant with Kairi, and my hair had gone flat from lack of caring for it…so I figured why not just make my hair this way so he remembers me the way he saw me last." She explained as Terra nodded. Then a mischievous smile crept over her face.

"Wanna help with the pregnancy department Terra?" she asked as Terra quickly spit out his coffee on the floor as Cid walked in.

"HEY!! Don't spit coffee on the floor!" Cid yelled as Terra wiped his mouth and whirled around with a look of "Deer in the headlights" at the sniggering woman.

"W-w-w-what?!" He spluttered as she started howling with laughter.

"Luimt oui gaab dra hueca tufh? E's dnoehk du cmaab rana." Rikku mumbled as she rested her head on one of the tables. (Could you keep the noise down? I'm trying to sleep here.)

"Fro tuh'd oui zicd ku pylg du pat Rikku, ed femm pa ehvehedamo suna lusvundypma." Ven replied as a pair of tired green Al Bhed eyes peeked over her arms. (Why don't you just go back to bed Rikku, it will be infinitely more comfortable.)

"Tuh'd ica cilr pek funtc eh dra sunhehk Ven...so pnyeh yeh'd yfyga oad." She mumbled back. (Don't use such big words in the morning Ven...my brain ain't awake yet.)

"Quit speaking Al Bhed." Aqua pleaded, as the two green eyes vanished into Rikku's resting arms.

Cid in the meantime had handed Terra a mop and bucket to clean up the spit out coffee spill.

"Cid how far are we from Paris?" Paine asked from the back of the room causing everyone but Rikku, who was fast asleep, to jump. No-one had noticed her when they came in.

"Kaaw tuh'd clyna ic mega dryd Paine! Oui luimt ryja kejah ic y raynd yddylg!" Ven said to the SOLDIER. (Geez don't scare us like that Paine! You could have given us a heart attack.)

"If I didn't the coffee will." Paine replied causing all non-Al Bhed speakers, save for the only Al Bhed native who was still asleep, to arch an eyebrow.

"I beg you please quit speaking Al Bhed." Aqua pleaded again as Rikku started snoring.

* * *

**That afternoon…**

Rikku, now much more refreshed and back in her original Spiran clothing, walked into the cargo hold to watch Wall-e at work again…this was what she did when she got bored…watch the "lil Machina," as she called him, and try to figure out what makes him tick.

But this time she had company in the form of a silver haired SOLDIER, who was swinging her sword around very methodically.

Paine however had noticed her entrance, and peaked around to glare at the one who interrupted her practice.

"What do you want?" she asked rather annoyed.

"I'm just bored…and I need something to do." Rikku replied with a sigh.

"Well you won't find anything here Al Bhed." Paine replied as she returned to swinging the sword around gracefully and Rikku turned with a sigh.

She made her way to the "music room" where Yuna was once again attempting to turn Ven's poem into a song.

"_The dream isn't over yet  
Though I often say I can forget  
I still relive that day  
You've been there with me all the way  
I still hear you say"_"HI YUNIE!!" "YEAHHHH!!" was all that anyone heard.

"Rikku don't sneak up on me like that!" Yuna scorned the young Al Bhed.

"Sorry, Yunie…What'cha doing?" Rikku asked.

"I'm busy writing a song…" Yuna said as she quickly peaked around the corner to see if anyone in particular was coming, "…and it's for Ven so don't breathe a word of it to him…not even in Al Bhed."

"Why are you writing him a song?" Rikku asked confused.

"It's a long story." Yuna answered as Rikku arched an eyebrow.

"Look…you remember that poem Ven wrote for Lulu?" Yuna asked as Rikku nodded, "Well it was intended as a song, but Aqua's husband was supposed to write the music for it and vanished before he could."

"Oh so you're writing the music for him?" Rikku asked with a smile.

"Yes and please don't tell him, I want this to be a surprise for him." Yuna pleaded as Rikku smiled and nodded, then left.

Rikku continued down the hall to find Terra, Aqua, Cid, and Kimahri sitting at one of the tables in the mess hall.

"Kimahri call." The Ronso said.

"Fold." Terra said.

"I'll call too." Aqua said with a smirk.

"Full house Aces over Kings." Cid replied with a smirk as Aqua groaned.

Rikku decided to stay away from this one and moved on. A few minutes later she found Aerith sitting in an empty room reading the Sheppard's Journal intently.

"Hi Aerith!" Rikku greeted as the Cetra looked up and nodded with a smile, "Anything interesting?!"

"To you, I doubt it…" Aerith said as Rikku sat down Indian style on the bed.

"Try me." Rikku replied.

"Ok then…uh…" Aerith said but didn't know where to start.

"Ooh anything about that Chaos thingy?" Rikku asked.

"No I'm afraid not…and what's strange is I keep feeling like there's some pages missing." Aerith replied.

"Huh?"

"Well…I'll be reading a sentence at the end of one page and then when I continue to the next one the sentence is either incomplete or it ends incomprehensibly…like there was another sentence before it that is missing." Aerith explained.

"You think Flint tore some pages out?" Rikku asked.

"No, I think that someone else got to the book and tore out a few key pages to ensure that if we got the it, we couldn't locate Kingdom Hearts." Aerith answered.

"Who would do that?" Rikku asked.

"Probably whoever it is that Professor Hojo's working for." Aerith answered.

"Yeah…oh well thanks for the chat." Rikku said as she bounced up and walked out of the room to go look for Ven.

"Hey Mickey have you seen Ven?" Rikku asked as she passed the apprentice.

"Nope, sorry." Mickey replied as he headed for the bridge.

"Ven!! Ur Ven!! Lusa uid, lusa uid franajan oui yna!" Rikku called out. (Ven!! Oh Ven!! Come out, come out wherever you are!)

"Oac?!" Ven replied from somewhere. (Yes?!)

"Ven E's punat! Frana yna oui?!" She called out. (Ven I'm bored! Where are you?!)

"So nuus...tuh'd lusa eh E zicd kud uid uv dra crufan!" Ven replied. (My room...don't come in I just got out of the shower!)

Rikku ignored his comment and burst in on him standing fully dressed leaning against the wall with a camera in his hands, as he took a picture of her eager face.

"That's one for the memory album." He said as he lowered the camera with a smirk.

"Dryd'c hud jano vihho." She whined. (That's not very funny.)

"Oh yes it was." He said as Aerith appeared at the door.

"Success?" she asked as he nodded and handed Aerith the camera. Aerith then walked away leaving a semi-annoyed Rikku behind.

"What?" Ven asked.

"E fyc rubehk du caa oui hygat yht dinh dra dypmac uh oui." Rikku pouted as he laughed. (I was hoping to see you naked and turn the tables on you.)

"Yht E sicd cyo dryd ed fyc y jymeyhd avvund uh ouin bynd. Pnyju!" Ven replied as Rikku sat down with a sad face on his bed. (And I must say that it was a valiant effort on your part. Bravo!)

"Fryd'c fnuhk bym?" Ven asked as he noticed her expression. (What's wrong pal?)

"Dnidrvimmo...E's zaymuic uv oui...oui vuiht cusauha du muja...oui vuiht Lulie...yht E ryja hu uha." She said with a sigh. (Truthfully...I'm jealous of you...you found someone to love...you found Lulie...and I have no one.)

"Fuf drec luhjancydeuh duug y syzun mavd dinh." Ven mumbled. (Wow this conversation took a major left turn.)

"E fecr drana fyc cusauha fru mujat sa." Rikku said as Ven sat down next to her. (I wish there was someone who loved me.)

"E ghuf E tuh'd luihd...pid E'ja knufh du muja oui mega y tyikrdan Rikku...yht E drehg oui syo ryja ymnayto sad dra syh uv ouin tnaysc yht hud ajah ghuf ed." Ven replied. (I know I don't count...but I've grown to love you like a daughter Rikku...and I think you may have already met the man of your dreams and not even know it.)

"Hela dno Ven...E sayh E lyna vun oui mega y tyt pid...E cdemm vaam...gehty asbdo ehceta oui ghuf?" Rikku said as she looked up at him (Nice try Ven...I mean I care for you like a dad but...I still feel...kinda empty inside you know?)

"Yr tuh'd funno, oui'mm saad cusa ryhtcusa kio cusatyo yht oui'mm vymm sytmo eh muja fedr res yht ra fuimt pa vuumecr hud du vymm eh muja fedr oui." Ven replied. (Ah don't worry, you'll meet some handsome guy someday and you'll fall madly in love with him and he would be foolish not to fall in love with you.)

"Oui drehg cu?" She asked. (You think so?)

Then he pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear…

"E ghuf cu." He replied. (I know so.)

All the way out in Midgar, Zack smirked as he saw a picture that Terra had planted of he and Rikku giving each other bunny ears from when they were traveling back from Spira.

He smiled at the photo as he pocketed it and returned to preparing for his first official mission as a member of SOLDIER…

* * *

**That night…**

Ven was sound asleep, he had decided to ignore one of Cid's suggestions and turn the heating on in the room.

It was sometime after midnight when the door opened, and of all people, Aqua walked in wearing a white tank top, gray jogging shorts, and white slippers, and then proceeded to shove Ven over and curl up in bed next to him.

"Uh excuse me?!" he asked.

"I told you the heating's out in my room…and I am not becoming a Popsicle for it. So shut up." Aqua grumbled as Ven rolled his eyes with a groan and rolled over to where they were back to back.

An hour later the door opened again and in trudged Paine, carrying a pillow and a blanket, and wearing a black bra and long black sweat pants, where she proceeded to sit down in one of the chairs in the room.

"What is this, a Bed and Breakfast?!" Ven grumbled as Paine simply ignored him and curled up in the chair.

Another hour later, Rikku walked in, wearing the fluffy bed jacket from earlier, carrying her stuffed Chocobo under one arm, and a sleeping bag in the other while holding a pillow in the same hand as the sleeping bag.

"Ugh…who in the worlds declared my quarters a hotel?!" Ven asked as Aqua elbowed him in the rib cage and Rikku rolled out the sleeping bag and quickly snuggled into it.

Yet another hour later just as Ven was starting to get back to sleep, the door opened yet again and Yuna walked in, wearing a long white night gown.

"Ev yhouha amca fymgc eh...E ys cu kuehk du ku pancang." Ven mumbled as Aqua elbowed him again and Rikku let Yuna share the sleeping bag with her. (If anyone else walks in...I am so going to go berserk.)

Two hours later the door opens and Kimahri walks in…and Ven stayed true to his word.

"Oh for Pete's sake…Kimahri there's no room for you in here!!" Ven yelled as Paine hurled her pillow at the blond.

"Shut up will you…we're trying to sleep." Paine mumbled as Kimahri shrugged.

"Kimahri just concerned...Kimahri wondered where everyone went."

"Good night Kimahri!" Ven grumbled as Aqua elbowed him yet again, and Kimahri closed the door with a shrug.

An hour later Ven heard a mechanical noise from in the corner, sat up and saw Wall-e had folded into his box form, and had plugged himself in to the wall to recharge. Ven rolled his eyes and laid back down.

Two hours later Ven was awoken by a familiar buzzing noise as M-O came scrubbing in.

"**M-O!!"** Ven yelled as Aqua proceeded to whack Ven in the side of the head with her arm, rendering him unconscious for the rest of the night.

* * *

**The next morning…**

Ven awoke to a throbbing pain in his head.

"Oh I hope that was just a dream." He said as he started to roll over but felt the warmth of a human body next to him. He rubbed his hand up and down what he hoped was both a leg…and Aqua.

"Aqua, please tell me that's you." He asked hopefully.

"Yes it's me, and kindly remove your hand from my leg before you lose it." Aqua ordered as Ven instantly complied.

"Shut up, some of us are still trying to sleep." Yuna said from the floor. Ven sat up just enough so he could see the clock…it was 9:30 a.m.

Aqua was just laying there wide awake with the blankets over her, Paine and Wall-e were nowhere to be seen, Rikku was still asleep, and Yuna was trying to sleep.

"Aqua would you care to explain how my room became a ladies bunk room?" Ven asked impatiently.

"I told you the heating went out." She replied.

"But you said just in your room!" Ven said.

"Yeah…I had to bunk with Paine but her heating went out, and I'm guessing that Rikku and Yuna's heating went out too." Aqua replied.

"They bunk together?!" Ven asked.

"Yes we do…we're cousins...and I'm trying to sleep!" Yuna whined.

"So why my room?!" Ven asked.

"We didn't think you'd mind." Aqua replied.

"Then why did you get in bed with me?" He whimpered/whined.

"Well…I was hoping for a happy ending." Aqua whispered with a seductive smile as Ven whimpered.

"Oye." Ven whined as he slammed his head back into the pillow.

"I thought we were supposed to be best friends without the 'benefits." He said from inside the pillow.

"We are, I was just kidding." Aqua giggled as Ven groaned.

Suddenly Terra poked his head in.

"Whoa ho Ven…what happened here last night?" He asked as Ven started scowling and Aqua threw a pillow at him.

"Fro sa?" Ven whimpered. (Why me?)

* * *

**End chapter 24.**

I hate these small spurts of writers block...

Oh and back in the scene where Rikku and Ven are having that talk in Al Bhed together…I keep hearing the piano collection version of "1000 words," playing in the background.


	25. The Bells of Notre Dame part 1

Morning in Paris, the city awakes to the bells of Notre Dame, The fisherman fishes, the baker bakes to the bells of Notre Dame. From the big bells loud as the thunder, to the little bells soft as a song, and some say the soul of the city is the toll of the bells of Notre Dame.

The city's bright cobblestone streets were filled with color with the reflection of banners and streamers in preparation for some major event in the town center later on that afternoon.

In an alley way the bright light of magic causes our three Knights, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Aerith, and Cid to appear…Mickey, Kimahri, and Wall-e are again forced to stay behind, but this time to avoid causing fear in the locals.

"Whoa what is this place?" Ven asked as he peeked out of the alleyway.

"Beats me." Yuna replied.

"Perhaps we should split up, Aqua, Yuna, Rikku, and Terra in one direction, Myself, Aerith, Cid, and Paine in another." Ven suggested as they nodded in agreement and headed out.

After a while Paine turned to Ven.

"Just curious, do we even know what this Mune guy looks like?" She asked.

"Yes I do, tall, red hair, and I'm not talking an orangey red I mean a deep red, like the color red like on that guy over there…wait" Ven replied as the crowd started thinning out.

"Did we just find him?" Aerith asked as Ven started moving towards where he saw the red haired man, but as he finally got close enough to put his hand on the guy the man turned around…

"Oh hey, you're one of 'Vinnie's' friends Yo?" Reno said as he finally identified Ven.

"Reno?! Aww nuts I was hoping you were someone else." Ven replied as he face palmed himself.

"Something wrong here Reno? Who is this man?" a man with blond hair and wearing a white business suit asked as he approached accompanied by Rude, Tseng, and Elena.

"Uh sir this is one of Vincent Valentine's companions, same with the girl and the man in the blue jacket." Tseng explained.

"Yeah, and so is the woman here…the name's Ven by the way, and this is Aerith, Cid, and Paine." Ven introduced as the blond man nodded.

"I see well any friends of Vincent Valentine's is a friend of mine." The man said, "My name is Rufus Ansem…I'm the son of Ansem the Wise."

"Ah so you're Rufus." Aerith said as Cid nudged Ven and whispered something into his ear. Ven nodded with a solemn expression on his face.

"Uh look I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I'm afraid I must be…" Ven said with a sigh.

"Why what's wrong?" Rufus asked.

"I regret to inform you that Vincent Valentine is missing in action." Ven said stoically as the five in front of him looked at him with looks of shock on their faces.

"How?" Rufus asked.

"From what I understand, he ran through some kind of portal while chasing a fugitive." Ven replied.

"Well…perhaps a friend of mine in town may know where he is." Rufus said as he scratched his chin causing the four to look at him curiously.

"Huh, who?" Cid asked.

"A contact I have within the city, he only comes out during the day, and is very nervous whenever I see him." Rufus replied.

"What does he do?" Aerith asked.

"He won't tell me, I tried having Tseng following him once but he lost him in a graveyard." Rufus replied as Tseng nodded.

"Wait a minute what's his name?" Ven asked.

"What difference does it make?" Tseng replied.

"TSENG!" Rufus barked at the man's lack of manners, "My apologies for my bodyguard here, the man's name is Mune."

"MUNE!?" the four repeated.

"What's so important about this man?" Rufus asked.

"He's my best friend's husband and she hasn't seen him since before their, now four year old daughter, was born." Ven replied.

"He is?!" Reno asked.

"Yes can you contact him?" Ven replied as Rufus smirked.

"No need…I already plan on meeting with him during the festival this afternoon." Rufus replied.

"What festival?" Paine asked.

"Why the main reason I come here, the Festival of Fools, in celebration of Topsy Turvy day." Rufus replied with a smile.

"Well…a festival may be fun…and we could use the excitement." Ven said as his group plus Rufus, and the Turks moved towards the massive cathedral in the center of town where the preparations were being made for the festival.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Come on Mune where are you." Aqua muttered to herself in hopes of seeing her lost husband again.

"Maybe he went inside the Cathedral." Yuna suggested as Aqua silently nodded and headed across the square towards the doors to the mighty cathedral.

As they entered, they stood in awe of the design as Terra knelt and made the Sign of the Cross (the sign that many Catholics make with their hands at various junctions) before a large elderly priest in red and white robes with a golden cross necklace.

"Greetings young ones…may I help you?" the priest greeted with a smile.

"Let me handle this…" Terra said to the others before turning to the priest, "…Yes good Father we are looking for someone, perhaps you've seen him, he's tall and has red hair." Terra explained as the Priest thought for a moment.

"That depends…I have seen two different men in here matching your description." He replied.

"His name is Mune, does that ring any bells?" Aqua asked as the bells up in the bell towers conveniently started to ring.

"Well no but it does narrow it down." The priest replied, "I know the man who I know by name, Reno, travels with a man in a white suit, and three others plus himself are dressed in black business suits…they come here periodically and head straight to the bell towers."

"Well that means Rufus and the Turks are here." Terra said as the priest continued.

"The other man I know also goes straight to the bell towers, whenever he comes in, and he always looks very troubled whenever I do see him." The priest added, "I believe he has also become friends with our bell ringer...something both of the poor men need desperately."

"Have you seen him lately?" Aqua asked desperately.

"Yes as a matter of fact he ran up to the bell towers just a few minutes ago." The priest replied.

"Which way to the bell towers?!" Aqua asked excitedly.

"That way young child, but a word of caution!" the priest said, "There is something very…dark, about him; I believe he has some dark secret that may be the reason for his behavior."

"Thank you good father." Terra said as Aqua bolted for the door the priest indicated.

"May God bless you all." The priest said as the four ran up the stairway towards the bell towers.

As they reached they emerged onto the roof the constant ringing from the bells stopped as Aqua ran for a door on the side of the tower with the other three in toe.

"Wait." Terra signaled to Aqua who nodded as he climbed a wooden ladder up to a wooden loft.

"Who goes there?!" a horribly disfigured man with a large hump, a bulging eye, large nose and red hair, yelled from across the room as Terra emerged.

"Relax friend…I mean you no harm." Terra replied.

"No soldiers in the sanctuary!" the man said as he grabbed a long piece of wood and swung it at Terra, who leapt out of the way.

"I'm not a soldier!!" Terra yelled as he grabbed another board and blocked a savage blow by the strange man who was surprisingly strong.

"Then who are you?!" the man asked.

"My name is Terra, I come in peace, and I am not your enemy." He replied as Yuna's voice called up.

"Terra, are you ok?!" she asked.

"I'm fine Yuna!" he replied, "Look, what can I do to convince you that I mean what I said?"

The big man paused for a moment before letting Terra go.

"Nothing" he replied, "My name is Quasimodo, I'm the bell ringer here."

"Pleasure to meet you, can I call you Quasi?" Terra asked as the man nodded.

"Have you seen a tall guy with red hair?" Terra asked as Quasi arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, why?" Quasi replied.

"Because I have someone here who wants to meet him." Terra replied.

"W-who is it Quasimodo?" a nervous voice asked from nowhere.

"It's ok Mune…it's just a friend…you can come out now." Quasi replied as a man with dark red hair with a few streaks of gray in it, he also looked like he hadn't shaved in a long time. He was wearing a tattered brown shirt, with a darker pair of pants and black boots emerged from around a corner.

"Are you Mune?" Terra asked as the man nervously pointed at him with a shaky finger.

"You…I have seen you before…in my nightmares." The man said as Terra arched an eyebrow.

"Whatever I may have done in your dreams, I assure you I mean you no harm what so ever." Terra reassured as Rikku yelled from the bottom.

"Hey Terra, what's going on up there?!" yelled.

"T-Terra…I remember that name from my nightmares too." Mune replied nervously.

"Rikku, you and Yuna come up…the rest of you stay put for just a second." Terra replied.

"WHAT?!" Aqua yelled angrily as Mune paused for a moment and furrowed his brow like he recognized the voice.

"I know that voice…but from where?" he asked as Yuna and Rikku emerged from the ladder, and Quasimodo quickly leapt up into the rafters above.

"Uh Terra which one is he?" Yuna asked, as Terra pointed at Mune.

"Look Mune…I know for a fact that you have a family…a wife…and a daughter." Terra said as Mune looked at Terra with a confused yet cautious look.

"Prove it." He said as he stopped shaking.

"Your wife is the only person I have ever met with blue hair…natural blue hair." Terra explained as he moved closer.

"You've seen her?!" Mune asked as Terra nodded to the two women behind him.

"Yes…I've seen her and your daughter." Terra replied as Yuna waved her summoning wand over the pit they had emerged from as Aqua silently started climbing the ladder.

"You…you've seen Aqua…my Aqua?!" Mune asked as Terra smiled and nodded.

"Yes…and I think that for the first time in four years…that you did too." Terra said as he covered his eyes and Aqua emerged.

"Aqua?!" he asked as Terra removed his hand.

"Mune…it is you!!" she yelled as they ran into each other in full embrace.

"Oh worlds I missed you." Aqua said with a tear.

"I have yearned for you for so long my queen of the ocean." Mune replied just as teary eyed.

"I'm going to take you home Mune, home to our daughter." Aqua said as they broke the embrace.

"I would love nothing more than to go back home with you…" Mune replied as he started to frown, "…but Sanzun won't allow it."

"Ok there's that name Sanzun again…" Terra said as he and Aqua both arched an eyebrow, "…Who is this Sanzun and where can we find him?"

"S-Sanzun is my…brother." Mune replied.

"You never said you had a brother." Aqua said.

"You don't want to meet him…" Mune warned nervously, "…he's a dangerous and violent man; what's more he's a kidnapper and hostage keeper."

"What? Who has he kidnapped?!" Yuna asked.

"Well at first it was me, then a month ago this brown haired woman in a white coat, then just a couple days ago, a man in a black suit with black hair." Mune explained as the four looked at each other with realization.

"Vincent!" they said in unison.

"Y-yes I believe that's his name." Mune said with a nod as Quasimodo leapt down from a beam higher up.

"Frollo's coming, everybody hide quick!!" Quasi said as Mune panicked and pulled Aqua towards a large plank wall and hid inside followed by Yuna, Rikku, and Terra.

A while later a tall elderly man in dark robes, wearing a triangular hat entered with a basket.

"Good morning Quasimodo," the man said with a deep voice, "How are we this morning?"

"F-fine master." Quasi replied nervously.

"Good." The man replied as he set the basket on a table, sat down in one of the chairs, and cleared his throat as Quasi ran over to a makeshift cupboard and grabbed a fine silver plate and chalice along with a poorly carved wooden plate and chalice, and ran back over and hastily set them up…apparently the man gets the fine silver while Quasi gets stuck with the wooden settings…the heartless cretin.

"We may be here a while." Terra whispered.

* * *

**In the streets below…**

Ven, Aerith, Cid, Paine, Rufus, and the Turks headed towards the Cathedral but paused as Rufus caught sight of a dark and menacing looking horse drawn carriage with armored guards standing around it in front of the Cathedral.

"Oh blast…" Rufus muttered as he saw the carriage.

"What's wrong?" Ven asked.

"Frollo's here…he's going to check up on the bell ringer…that's where Mune probably is right now." Rufus replied.

"Who's this Frollo guy?!" Cid asked.

"Judge Claude Frollo…he essentially controls the city." Rufus replied, "I try to avoid him at all costs…let's just say he doesn't approve of outsiders much…especially gypsies for some reason."

"Is there anything we can do?" Aerith asked.

"Not really I'm afraid...not until he comes out for the festival that is." Rufus said as he saw the carriage pull away.

"When will he do that?" Aerith asked as Rufus looked at his watch.

"Oh about 3…2…1…now!" Rufus said as if almost like clockwork the man emerged from the central Cathedral doors.

"That's impeccable?!" Ven said as Rufus gave a nod to him and they started walking across the square towards the Cathedral. Then a man in yellow colored armor on a horse blocked their path.

"Whoa Achilles!" the man said as the horse came to a stop, "My apologies citizen, carry on."

"Thank you sir but actually…" Rufus said as he gave a signal to Tseng who gave Ven and the others a single to go on without them while Rufus distracted the guard.

The four made it into Cathedral just as a large group of people in brown robes and hoods in a double file line moved towards the decorated stage in the center of the square singing.

"Excuse me sir…" Ven said as the Priest turned to them, "…how can we find the bell tower?"

"That way, my son." The priest said as Ven nodded and the four bolted for the door the priest had indicated.

* * *

**End Chapter 25.**

1 – If anyone flames about Terra and his implied Catholic faith, you will receive a scorning reply to your review.

2 – Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place largely at Notre Dame Cathedral, which is a Catholic church.

3 – I'm not Catholic, so if you are and have spotted an inaccuracy in what I wrote…please inform me and I will try to change it accordingly.

4 – I am Methodist however…

I only own Mune and Sanzun by the way.

Ok that bit aside...

I have been toying with the idea for another Reunion prequel fic but this one is for the upcoming 358/2 days which is largely Roxas centric...I have even written out the first chapter for it and so far I'm quite pleased with it.

Should I get a case of writters block for this story I may fall back to the 358/2 fic or vice versa. I hope you enjoy the 358/2 days fic as much a this one and Reunion.

I promise you all this however...**IT WILL NOT BE A ROXAS/AXEL YAOI FIC!!**

Anyway...I will still endevour to finish this story for ya'll.


	26. The Bells of Notre Dame part 2

High up in the dark bell tower Terra, Yuna, Rikku, Aqua, and Mune emerged from hiding just as Ven, Cid, Aerith, and Paine arrived at the Bell Tower.

"Phew apparently whoever designed this place didn't think to put in an elevator." Cid groaned as Ven gave a mildly tired chuckle.

"It's circa thirteen hundred construction Cid…they didn't even think of elevators then." Ven replied as he climbed the ladder up only to be confronted by Quasimodo.

"Whoa!" Ven said as the man appeared.

"It's ok Quasi they're with us!" Terra said as the four climbed up.

"Mune, is it really you?!" Ven said as he saw his old friend.

"Ven…it's good to see you again." Mune said as the two hugged like two friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time would.

"How's Lu?" "Fantastic, she sends her best by the way." "But then she sends you anyway." "Good one." "So what did you have a boy or a girl?" "Huh…oh a boy." "Anything like you or Lu?" "We're calling it a draw." "A draw huh?" "Yna oui kioc vehecrat oad?" (Are you guys finished yet?)

Rikku interrupted.

"What did she just say?" Mune asked.

"Oh she's native Al Bhed." Ven replied.

"Ahh Spiran." Mune added.

"Uh Ven can I have my husband back now?" Aqua asked.

"Hang on, my turn." Terra said as he approached.

"Now you mentioned Sanzun earlier, and I would really appreciate it if you would tell us where to find him." Terra said as Mune started shaking again.

"I told you I can't…" Mune said.

"Wait a second…Sanzun…the same guy who sabotaged AUTO to spy on you?!" Ven asked.

"Oh did I mention that Sanzun also has a hand in the kidnapping of a certain friend of ours." Terra stated.

"Vincent?!" Aerith asked.

"Yes plus…Vincent's girlfriend Dr. Lucrecia Crescent as well." Terra added.

"Mune…Sanzun has put the lives of Ven and Lulu's son, Terra's son, and our daughter in grave danger…you need to tell us where to find him." Aqua begged.

"Ok..." He said finally, "…meet me in the graveyard east of the Cathedral at sundown tonight…My love I'm sorry but you must go."

"What? Why?!" Aqua asked.

"Because I cannot be seen with you…if Sanzun found out he would kill me." Mune replied.

"But we can protect you, we have weapons…you should see what Aqua can do." Ven said as the three summoned their Keyblades.

"Those weapons…I've seen them before in my nightmares too…only the one I've seen the most…you must leave quickly…before they see you." Mune said urgently as Aqua kissed him one more time before they turned to leave.

"Mune…" Ven said before he started down the ladder, "…I told you once not to break her heart…I trusted you then…I still trust you now…don't betray my trust."

As Ven disappeared Mune turned to look out over the city.

"I wish I could avoid betraying it." Mune whispered.

* * *

**Down in the square…**

The festival was going full strength as Rufus and the Turks met our heroes at the Cathedral doors.

"Did you meet him?" Rufus asked as Aqua stared hopefully up at the bell towers.

"Yeah…kind of good to see him again too…" Ven replied as he joined Aqua in staring up at the towers.

"Again?!" Rufus asked.

"We're scheduled to meet him in the graveyard east of the Cathedral tonight at sundown." Terra interrupted as Rufus nodded.

"Well in the meantime let's enjoy the party!" Rikku said as Ven turned and shrugged.

"Come on Aqua you can get whiplash doing that!" Cid said as Aqua turned and joined them into the crowd.

Meanwhile up in the bell tower…

"Oh I wish I could go down there…" Quasi said frustrated.

"What's stopping you old friend?" Mune asked.

"You know very well who's stopping me." Quasi replied.

"Look what could happen besides Frollo gets mad and locks you up here for a while?" Mune asked.

"He could hurt me?" Quasi asked back.

"Well if he did I can make sure he gets just what he deserves." Mune replied as Quasi took a deep breath and grabbed a dark sheet and like a monkey in the jungle climbed down into the square bellow.

Quasi landed right next to where Rikku and Ven were playing one of the many games.

"Oh excuse me." Quasi said as he hastily ran off.

"Was it my imagination or was that the weird looking fellow from the bell tower?" Ven asked as Rikku nodded.

"That's Quasimodo alright…we call him Quasi." Rikku replied as they set off after him.

They finally caught up with him outside of one of the tents.

"Quasi wait up!" Ven yelled as Quasi stumbled and fell into the tent sending Ven falling after him.

"Thanks for waiting…" Ven said as he looked up to see a stunning woman with raven black hair in a light blue robe, "…uh sorry wrong tent."

"Are you two ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine thanks." Ven said as he got up and ran around the corner causing Rikku to snicker at him.

"Hela kuehk mekrd vuud." Rikku giggled. (Nice going light foot.)

"Crid ib." Ven replied. (Shut up)

"By the way great mask…" the woman said as she and Quasi emerged from the tent causing Quasi to smile dreamily.

"Come on lover boy lets go." Ven said as he and Rikku took him by the arms and led him away.

A while later Quasi and the others had regrouped with Rufus and the Turks around the stage as a man in a colorful costume with a mask on was singing out…

"_Come one, Come all…  
Hurry, hurry here's your chance,  
to see the mystery and romance…"_

"_Come one, Come all…  
See the finest girl in France,  
make an entrance to enchant,"_

"Dancer Esmeralda!!  
DANCE!!"

As soon as he yelled dance he vanished in a puff of pink smoke and in his place danced the girl whose tent Quasi and Ven had fallen through earlier in a beautiful silky red dress. She danced gracefully with a tambourine in hand. She even danced over to Frollo in his V.I.P. seating and threw a silky scarf around his neck and danced away from him.

"_I'm a married man, I'm a marri__ed__ man, I'm a married man." _Ven yelled at himself as Cid slapped him on the back.

"Remember…Grandma Ven." Cid said as Ven shuddered.

"Thanks I needed that…" Ven replied.

"Just look at that disgusting display." Frollo said to the yellow armored soldier from before who replied with an entranced "Yes sir."

Finally she stopped dancing and the man re-appeared and sang out once more…

"_Here it is!! The moment you've been waiting for,  
Here it is!! You know exactly what's in store!_

_"Now's the time to laugh until our sides get sore,  
_Now's the time we crown the KING OF FOOLS!!"

"You all remember last year's King?!" he yelled as he pointed to a creepy man wearing a floppy clown crown being carried in a chair over the mob.

"_So make a face that's horrible and frightening,  
Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing,  
For the face that's ugliest will be the King of fools!!_

As the crowd chanted "Topsy Turvy" Cid, Terra, and Ven found themselves given masks and pulled up on stage by Esmeralda much to the delight of the women until Yuna noticed the last person that got pulled up on stage.

"Oh no…Quasimodo's up there!!" Yuna said causing the women to stop laughing and gasp.

One by one the men attempted to make an ugly face as Esmeralda removed their masks, but failed to receive the crowd's approval and were subsequently head butted of the stage by a Billy goat named Djali (Pronounced Jolly)…that is until she reached Quasimodo and as she pulled on his cheeks, she quickly realized that it wasn't a mask…it was his face.

The crowd realized it too as did Frollo who Terra and Paine had been eyeballing for a while now. Then Clopin, the man in the colorful costume, appeared…

"Hold on everyone. Hold everything, we asked for the ugliest face in Paris and here he is, QUASIMODO THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME!!" He cheered as the whole crowed joined in and threw him into the chair the former king of fools once occupied and threw the clown crown on his head as they moved him towards a large round podium.

"Hail to the King!" Clopin repeated and as they passed our heroes he hollered, "Girls give a kiss!!"

All the girls complied and blew the bell ringer a kiss causing him to blush. Frollo on the other hand was livid which made Terra get that gut feeling something bad was about to happen.

Finally Quasi's throne reached the podium and the man stood proud as the crowd cheered…then from out of nowhere a tomato smacked him in the face.

"HEY who threw that?!" Cid yelled as many people in the crowd started throwing produce at the poor man, and then they started to try and tie him down to the podium which turned out to be a large wheel.

"We gotta help him!" Ven said as they ran through the crowd towards Quasi.

Yuna stopped and with her summoning wand summoned rain clouds to appear overhead as Paine, Terra, Ven, Aqua, and Cid leapt up onto the podium and deflected the incoming produce which stopped flying as soon as the people saw the five on the podium.

"You there!" Frollo called out from his box, "Move aside!"

"Make us!" Terra challenged as the people backed away in surprise at his comment.

"So be it…captain!" Frollo said as he turned to the armored man, "Arrest them and take them to the Palace of Justice."

The captain hesitated but finally nodded to the soldiers.

"Oh boys!!" a woman's voice said from the other side of the square, it was Esmeralda, "They have every right to stop that torture!!"

"Quasimodo isn't allowed to leave the bell tower!!" Frollo said as he then turned to the guards and motioned for them to grab her too.

"You guys move one muscle towards her and you're gonna need a doctor!" Ven bellowed at the guards as Aqua nodded to Yuna who waved her summoner wand and in a crash of thunder, a cloud started to descend where it eventually morphed into a large dragon like monster…it was the Bahamut Aeon.

"Witch-craft!" Frollo said stunned as the beast circled in the sky above.

"Guards seize the gypsy girl with the wand!" Frollo ordered as the guards moved towards Yuna but Rufus and the Turks intercepted.

"Oh no…I wouldn't do that if I were you." Reno said as Rufus and Turks all pulled guns, Rufus a shotgun, and fired at the guards killing them instantly.

"RUFUS ANSEM!!" Frollo yelled in anger as a swarm of guards charged them forcing them into retreat as the heroes quickly sprung Quasimodo and hauled him along with Esmeralda up to the Bell towers as Bahamut fired flare at the approaching guards.

At the top they watched as Bahamut held off the throngs of guards while they instantly started preparing for battle and blocked the door to the bell tower at the top.

Yuna then dismissed Bahamut as Terra turned to the rest of them.

"Frollo wouldn't dare lay siege to a church if we claim sanctuary!" he said.

"Then how do we let him know?" Paine asked.

"We shout it to him at the top of our lungs." Terra replied as they all walked to the edge and it one voice shouted…

"SANCTUARY!!" several times, and each time ending with a chorus of cheers from the crowd below.

"Wait a second I thought they were against us?" Aqua said as Rufus shook his head.

"No if you had known what a tyrant Frollo is, you would be revolting too!" Rufus replied as Quasimodo appeared from the bell tower.

"Mune's gone!" he said.

"What…where is he?!" Aqua asked back with a hint of panic on her voice.

"I don't know but he has to be around here somewhere." Ven said as the sky grew darker and on the rooftop of a tall castle like structure in the distance, stood the a hooded figure on one of the balconies with the dark armored warrior, Maleficent, Professor Hojo, and a weeping Dr. Crescent at his side.

Behind them was a large box like object with a large black tarp over it.

"I must say professor…" Maleficent said with a sinister grin, "…you do excellent work."

"Why thank you Madame, as do you." Hojo said with an evil laugh.

"Then let us test the experiment on those cursed Keybearers and see how they fare against the Spirit of Chaos itself…" Maleficent said as the hooded figure nodded.

"And perhaps it can deal with Frollo too while he's at it." The figure said as Hojo pulled the tarp away to reveal a hideous winged beast in bright red robes and carrying a large gun in its hands.

"Release him now!!" the warrior said as the cage door fell open and in a flash the beast flew off towards the Cathedral.

"I do not believe what Frollo just did…that's, that's sacrilege!!" Terra said with disbelief as the Judge had just ordered the soldiers to start entering the cathedral.

"Uh Yunie?!" Rikku said as she spotted something, "Did you call in another Aeon?"

"No. Why?" Yuna replied.

"Then what is that?!" Rikku asked as the winged red beast flew towards the cathedral then in mid flight turned its gun towards Frollo's box and blasted it with a powerful shot from its gun killing the tyrant once and for all.

"I think we're gonna need back up." Ven said as Cid hit the radio on his watch.

"MOUSE YOU AND THE RONSO GET DOWN HERE STAT!!" Cid yelled as the beast fired another shot at the balcony they were standing on, but they had all dodged and the blast missed.

In a flash of light Mickey appeared with Kimahri, and was shocked at what was going on.

"What is going on?" Mickey asked as he saw the flying beast.

"Long story, tell ya later." Ven replied as the Turks started firing at the beast.

"There's something about that thing that's familiar." Aqua muttered, the beast then headed straight towards her and grabbed her as he flew off.

"HOLD FIRE!!" Ven shouted, "That thing has Aqua!"

Meanwhile Aqua struggled against the beasts grip, and then a gruff yet familiar voice spoke from the creature's mouth.

"Aqua it's me!!" Aqua looked at the beasts face as realization swept over her.

"Oh my…Vincent…what have they done to you?!" She asked as Vincent/Chaos landed on the roof of one of the bell towers.

"What happened to you?!" She asked.

"I don't know…all I do know is that I have just now regained control of this…monstrous form." He replied.

"Then use it to help us." Aqua pleaded as from across the way Hojo stood dumbfounded at what he could see.

"I don't understand it...why isn't he killing her?!" Hojo asked.

"Perhaps something went wrong Doctor." Maleficent scorned as Hojo turned to a silently smiling Lucrecia.

"YOU! You sabotaged my experiment didn't you?!"Hojo yelled as he pulled Cerberus from his jacket and aimed it at the cowering Doctor.

"She did…I sense Protomateria with in him." The hooded figure said as he nodded to the armored warrior who ran forward and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

"You shall pay for your insolence!!" Hojo yelled as he pulled the trigger.

* * *

**End Chapter 26.**

Quite a surprise isn't it?


	27. The Bells of Notre Dame part 3

"**LUCRECIA!!" **Vincent yelled as he heard the shot.

"Huh?!" Aqua asked.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!" Terra said as he and Ven emerged on the roof.

"Wait its Vincent!" Aqua said as the two stopped but Vincent/Chaos had flown off back towards the Palace of Justice.

Lucrecia fell to the floor with blood coming from a gunshot wound between her shoulder and chest.

"The fool ruined everything!" Hojo sneered as he tossed away the tri-barreled pistol.

Maleficent then turned and saw the very beast they had released heading straight towards them.

"It's coming for us!" Maleficent said as Vincent/Chaos aimed his gun at Hojo and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately for Vincent, Hojo along with the other two had vanished in a black portal mere seconds before the shot hit.

"Lucrecia!" Vincent/Chaos yelled as he landed near his injured love.

"Vincent." She replied weakly as he held her.

"Save your strength Lucrecia…you're going to make it." Vincent/Chaos said as she shook her head.

"No…I don't deserve to live for what I've done to you." She replied.

"As long as I still live, I will never stop caring for you." Vincent/Chaos replied, "And I will never give up on you."

Lucrecia was surprised; she had received mercy from the man she had betrayed, What's more he still loved her.

"I'll…try to hang on." She said as she grasped her wound in an effort to stop the bleeding while Vincent grabbed Cerberus, and flew off back towards the Cathedral.

Back up on the bell tower the three Knights stood stunned, they didn't know what was happening all they did know was that the soldiers had stopped their attack with Frollo's death and the Captain of the guard had assumed command and called them off.

But the battle wasn't quite over yet…

When Vincent had flown off the dark warrior had appeared in a puff of smoke.

"What the…you! You're the guy who kidnapped Vincent!" Terra said as the three knights summoned their weapons.

"Can I assume that your name is Sanzun?!" Terra asked as the warrior laughed.

"Yes, that is what they call me." The warrior said as he matched Aqua's fighting stance. (Holding the Keyblade straight down and the left arm across the chest like holding a shield)

"That voice…" Aqua said with shock as the helmet on the warrior became partially transparent revealing a man looking almost exactly like…

"MUNE?!" the three said in unison…but there was something different about the man they saw before them…instead of an unshaven red haired man they knew, this one was black haired and clean shaven.

"I'm not Mune, I am Sanzun…the guardian of darkness…Mune is my…" Sanzun smiled sinisterly before answering, "…brother."

"Why did you kidnap him?" Aqua asked growing increasingly angry.

Sanzun laughed sinisterly as the helmet became solid black again.

"Why? Why not?!" Sanzun replied as the three charged forward and he leapt into the sky.

He held out his hand and a sphere of dark energy appeared which he threw towards the group which Ven promptly swatted back towards Sanzun with the Keyblade.

Ven then leapt into the air and using his power over the sky, he kept himself aloft while attacking the dark warrior repeatedly who blocked every blow. After a moment Sanzun came around with a savage blow that knocked Ven back down to the roof.

"VEN!" the two on the ground yelled as they saw him fall to the balcony where the others were. Fortunately he was caught by Kimahri. Sanzun blinked in behind Terra who quickly whirled around just in time to block the warrior's Keyblade.

"What did you do to Mune?!" Terra asked as he slammed the Keyblade into the roof sending a shockwave that caused the roof tiles to ripple towards Sanzun who leapt out of the way only to be smacked to the ground by Aqua.

"Now that was dirty." Sanzun said as he recovered, "But then again you've always been a dirty fighter haven't you?"

"How would you know…" Aqua replied, "…You were never there!"

"Oh…but Munesy dearest was…" Sanzun sneered, "…by the way how is Kairi?"

"SHUT UP!!" Aqua shouted as she charged him and he blocked with a wall of purple energy. She hit the wall at full speed causing her to bounce off and fall to the ground.

Meanwhile Vincent/Chaos landed on the balcony, startling everyone below in the process.

"Wait!" Tseng shouted as he spotted Cerberus, "I know that gun!"

"Mickey!" Vincent/Chaos said as everyone realized who it was, "I need your help."

"What?" Mickey asked as Vincent held out his left hand now encased within a golden talon like gauntlet.

"Come with me." He said as Mickey grabbed a hold and they flew off towards the Palace of Justice.

Back on top of the bell tower, Terra charged forward at Sanzun from behind who blinked away and reappeared behind him and blasted him with another dark energy sphere, knocking him over the railing towards the square below.

"TERRA!!" Aerith yelled as she watched him plummet.

But just as it seemed like he was going to hit a mighty gust of wind slowed him down enough that he landed gently on the ground…Ven had regained consciousness just in time.

Back on the roof Sanzun slowly approached Aqua who had landed in the corner.

"Now it's just you and me now kid…" Sanzun said as Aqua's eyes widened.

"Wait…Mune used to say the same thing to me…how can you know so many of the intimate details of our life together…Mune couldn't have told you everything." Aqua said as the helmet became transparent again.

"He didn't have too…he and I have a special bond, we know each other's hearts…after all, what are 'brothers' for?" Sanzun replied with a laugh as Aqua lowered her head.

"Then you know about my secret child too?" She said as Sanzun's eyes widened.

"What child?!" He sneered "Who's the father?!"

"I'll give you three guesses!" Aqua said as Sanzun looked at her with genuine surprise.

"Ven's child?!" He replied as she nodded and down below, Ven started scratching his head.

"Oui dfu ryja y get?!" Rikku exclaimed, (You two have a kid?!)

"Esbuccepma!" Ven replied. (Impossible!)

"Fyed y cal...Ruf ec drec esbuccepma? Oui cyet ouincamv dryd oui dfu tydat!" Paine asked. (Wait a sec...How is this impossible? You said yourself that you two dated!)

"Mydan!!" Ven replied. (Later!!)

"So the bride is unfaithful while the groom is away." Sanzun sneered angrily.

"Mune was missing, I was lonely and Ven was there for me like he always has been…and we had too much to drink and…things happened." Aqua replied as Ven face palmed…he figured out what was happening.

Sanzun turned away for a moment in silent shock. But as he did Aqua leapt forward and swung her Keyblade right across his back.

"AUGHHHH!!" He screamed as he fell to the ground on his hands and knees.

"That's for Mune!!" Aqua said as she held the Keyblade to his head, but Sanzun quickly blinked away and onto the opposite bell tower, where he stood defiantly as if he had never been injured.

"We'll meet again Aqua and when we do…it won't end so pleasantly!!" He said as the helmet went black again and he vanished in a black portal.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Vincent/Chaos and Mickey landed on the balcony as Mickey ran over to the injured doctor.

"Can you help her?" Vincent asked as Mickey looked at her wound.

"I think so…but we need to get her to where there are sufficient medical facilities, magic alone won't save her." Mickey replied as he cast curaga on her and Vincent nodded.

"I can teleport everyone back up to the ship including you." Mickey said as Vincent turned away.

"No…" He said, "…I cannot go back…my place isn't with the light anymore…it lies in the darkness."

"But it's not about what you look like on the outside…it's about what's inside that counts." Mickey said as Vincent was enveloped by a cloud of red smoke, and as it dissipated it revealed a more human looking Vincent.

He was in black clothes, with a red cape, cowl, and bandana, his shoes were gold plated and pointed at the tips, and his left hand was incased within a golden talon like gauntlet. The bigger gun that he had was no replaced by Cerberus. His eyes had also turned bright red. (A/N: His most common appearance)

"Maybe…but I need to find myself before I can face them again…tell them that will you? Especially Aqua." Vincent requested as Mickey nodded sadly.

"I hope we c'ya real soon pal." He replied solemnly as Vincent nodded with a faint smile.

"Sooner than you think." Vincent said as he vanished in a black portal.

Mickey paused for a moment before twirling his hand causing himself and the unconscious Lucrecia to vanish in a bright light.

* * *

**One hour later…**

Mickey had pulled everyone back to the Gummy ship, including the Turks. While Mickey, Yuna, and Aerith worked on saving Lucrecia, Aqua retreated to the mess hall to collect her thoughts.

"So you lied to him?" Ven said from the doorway as Aqua turned to face him.

"Yeah…we have no child Ven, you know that, I know that…but if Mune didn't know it, neither did Sanzun." Aqua replied with a sad look on her face.

"Yeah cause, A. I don't drink, and B. we never went that far…though we did come close a few times." Ven agreed, "So why the sad face?"

"Because, I know what Sanzun really is." Aqua replied with a tear as Ven took a seat next to her.

"I thought he said he was Mune's brother?" Ven said as Aqua shook her head.

"No…he is Mune." She replied as Ven arched an eyebrow.

"Huh?" He asked.

"I never told you or anyone this but…" Aqua said as she took a deep breath, "…before he disappeared he was seeing a psychiatrist."

"For what?" Ven asked.

"Do you know what M.P.D. is?" She asked back as he nodded.

"Multiple Personality Disorder." He said with a sigh.

"Mune and Sanzun are one and the same person." Aqua said tearfully.

"Ok…then what about the different hair colors?" Ven asked as Aqua shrugged.

"I don't know…I'm just as clueless as you are." She replied.

"So…what did the doctor say?" Ven asked.

"He said that he had developed only one additional personality, a dark personality that he would simply refer to as Mr. S…I had no idea that it was Sanzun." She said as Ven put his arm around her and hugged her causing her to start sobbing on his shoulder.

"I haven't seen him in four years…and what does he do the first time he sees me?? He attacks me!" she wept.

"No, No don't hate Mune for that…for pity's sake, don't hate him for that…" Ven replied as he stroked her hair with his hand, "…Sanzun possibly has become the more dominant personality."

"No…he can't…I want my Mune back." Aqua wept as Ven took a deep breath.

"If we can capture them, and get them to a good psychiatrist, then perhaps we can bring Mune back." Ven said with a sigh.

"You think…we could?" Aqua asked hopefully.

"I know we…can try." Ven said as she sat up at looked at him with a small yet ever present smile.

"Thank you Ven…I don't know what I would ever do without you." She said as her smile grew larger.

* * *

**End Chapter 27.**

Ok now to explain the reason I chose the names Mune & Sanzun…

They are both fragments of the Japanese word Munesanzun which means heart…at least that's what the dictionary site I checked said it was.

No I don't speak Japanese…so I may be dead wrong.

Also the idea to make a sympathtic bad guy... (translation: an antagonist who does something for a certain understandable reason, or an antagonist who are mentally unable to control their actions.)...came from watching X-men 3 at a friend's house back when I was working on Reunion.


	28. A Strained Friendship

**WARNING!!:** This chapter contains references of a semi-adult nature…you have been warned.

* * *

Aqua gazed out over the ocean of the Destiny Isles with huge smile on her face.

"AQUA!!" a male voice called as she turned to see Mune approaching her with Kairi at his side.

"I thought I had lost you." Aqua said as she and Mune embraced in a deep kiss.

After a moment she felt his hands on her wrists and then they tightened causing her eyes to shoot open and watch with horror as Mune's dark red hair turned solid black and his eyes turn bright yellow.

"You never lost me…" Mune/Sanzun replied as they broke the embrace and Aqua watched with terror as Kairi was surrounded by small black creatures with glowing yellow eyes.

"You lost us both…" Sanzun replied with an evil grin as the creatures came down upon Kairi….

* * *

Aqua screamed as she shot up out of bed…it had all been a nightmare.

"Aqua, are you ok?!" Ven asked…they were still (innocently) sharing Ven's bunkroom, though the other girls had moved out into a different room.

Aqua started crying as Ven quickly realized what had happened.

"Oh Aqua…a nightmare?" Ven asked as he sat up next to her and pulled her head to his shoulder.

"It was horrible…" Aqua replied through the sobbing and explained the dream to Ven who sighed.

Earlier they had successfully saved Dr. Crescent from death though she had been rendered comatose from the injury and there was no telling when or if she would ever awaken, she had to explain to everyone about her fib to Sanzun explaining that it was merely a trick to throw him off guard, and Mickey had explained why Vincent hadn't returned with them too.

They had spent the whole day explaining the new situation to Ansem, Rufus, and Angeal (Via magical communicator), getting repairs done, and re-stocking on supplies. They were going to leave the world in the morning. Yen Sid had been absent from the meeting for an unknown reason.

"What's going on in here?" Terra asked as he burst in with Keyblade in hand.

"Relax Terra…the poor thing had a nightmare." Ven said as Terra nodded understandably and banished the Keyblade.

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

"You're doing it pal…you're doing it." Ven replied as Rikku walked in sleepily with her stuffed Chocobo.

"What's going on?" Rikku asked as she rubbed her eye with her available hand.

"Aqua had a nightmare that's all…Uh Terra if you could sort of let people know that so we don't have any interrogations from anyone else." Ven suggested as Terra yawned and nodded as he left the room with Rikku who closed the door behind her.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" Ven asked as Aqua looked at him for a moment then quickly pulled him into a passionate kiss, then pulled him down onto the bed.

"_What is happening here?" _Ven thought as his brain tried to register what was going on. It nearly registered too late as he felt a wandering hand near his legs and perilously close to crossing a forbidden boundary.

"WHOA WHOA TIME OUT!!" Ven said as he leapt out of bed and against the wall near the door.

Aqua blinked for a moment before sighing.

"What is with you Aqua…have you gone space wacky on me?!" Ven asked as she gave him an exasperated look.

"Haven't you ever wanted me?" She asked as Ven paused with an arched eyebrow, "Haven't you ever wanted to take me and do whatever your heart's desire with me?"

Ven paused before answering…

"I would be lying if I said no…but I am madly and hopelessly in love with my wife…and if I ever crossed that boundary with anyone…I could never…forgive myself."

"And I'm still madly in love with Mune…but I feel he's betrayed me…but I will still forgive him." She replied.

"Mune is a different case…he's two people in one…Mune cannot be held accountable for Sanzun's actions." Ven replied as Aqua gave him a frustrated look.

"Do you know…how long it's been since I've…" "STOP!!" Ven interrupted as he saw the conversation's direction.

"I can only imagine how…lonely you've been…and right now you're vulnerable…even if Lulu wasn't even a factor…I couldn't forgive myself for taking advantage of you in this state." Ven said as Aqua huffed.

"Then what do you propose I do?" Aqua asked frustrated.

"I refuse to answer that question…you have held on for this long…you can hold on even longer…but I would probably suggest going to your room for tonight." Ven said as he opened the door and handed her a robe from his closet.

"But the heating's out." Aqua replied as she gave him pleading look.

"Exactly…and why not have a cold shower in the morning to top it all off." Ven said as Aqua sighed and trudged back to her room. Ven followed her as far as her door and closed it for her before returning to his room and collapsing in bed.

* * *

**The next morning…**

Ven was sitting at a table in the mess hall silently drinking his coffee with a bouncy Rikku humming some Al Bhed tune…but he wasn't paying any attention to her. Aqua finally and silently trudged in and noticed Ven who gave her a death glare, causing her to cringe sadly.

Rikku, totally oblivious to the death rays emanating from Ven's eyes, turned to Ven.

"Hey, do you think I should consider switching to a new weapon?" She asked but Ven didn't hear her.

"Hello?!" She asked as she waved her hand in front of his eyes causing him to break the glare off of Aqua and to the blond Al Bhed.

"I asked…you…a…" Rikku said cowering as she received the glare...and quickly and silently ran out of the room.

After a while Aqua sat down across from her fuming best friend.

Before she could say anything he sighed…

"You don't have to apologize…I understand…and you still don't have to apologize." Ven said without looking at her.

"I still feel bad about it though…" She replied, "…I mean…I nearly wrecked not only our friendship, but yours and Lulu's marriage…tell me how this can't be my fault, I defy you to find a reason."

"The only person we have to blame is Sanzun…if he hadn't taken control of Mune…none of the events occurring not only here but in the entire universe would be happening." Ven replied.

"True…but I still should have been in more control…I should have been thinking with my heart instead of my…" "STOP!!" Ven interrupted.

"Sorry…" Aqua replied, "…But look what I've done to our friendship…I mean look at us…we cannot even look at each other without thinking of what nearly happened last night…"

"What nearly happened last night?!" Cid asked as he entered the mess hall.

"**CID GET THE (Naughty Word) OUT!!"** Ven and Aqua shouted simultaneously as the Gummy ship pilot ran out of the room.

"I think…" Ven said after a moment of silence, "…It would probably be best if we left each other alone for a while."

"I agree…but what if I have another nightmare?" Aqua asked as Ven started to leave.

"I…don't know." Ven replied as he finally walked out the door.

* * *

**Later…**

Everyone had gathered on the bridge as Aerith explained something she found in the Sheppard's Journal.

"I was searching the Sheppard's Journal when I discovered a few references to a world near Spira that was once a great city of the Cetra…but it was abandoned during the Great War." Aerith explained.

"What war?" Terra asked.

"Oh…perhaps I better explain a bit then…Many thousands of years ago, the Cetra were at war with a xenophobic race known as the Calamities led by an evil being known as Jenova…the Calamities were beings of pure darkness but because of their genetic profile were immune to the negative effects of darkness…but were rendered especially vulnerable to the power of light…it is because of the Calamities that Kingdom Hearts was brought into being." Aerith explained.

"So this city was destroyed?" Paine asked as Aerith shook her head.

"Not exactly…it was abandoned and since the Calamities only focused on killing the Cetra rather than plundering their secrets they didn't bother entering the city…so it's now just overgrown and probably in ruins by now." Aerith replied.

"So what's so special about the city…besides it being a place where your ancestors once lived?" Ven asked.

"According to the Journal, the governor of the city at the time was a close friend of the book's author and created an exact copy of the book right down to the punctuation in a special water tight container within his throne." Aerith said as Cid spun towards the console.

"So where is this place?" Cid asked.

"Well I have managed to determine that the city was located on the world now known as…the Jungle Book." Aerith replied as everyone arched an eyebrow, "and before you ask I have no idea why it's called that."

"I don't care what it's called just so long as we can get a complete copy of that thing." Terra said as Cid punched in the coordinates and the Gummy ship roared into space and into hyperspace towards this new world.

* * *

**Meanwhile in an unknown location…**

"It would appear that our experiment has failed." Sanzun said as he turned to the Professor who was busily compiling random notes.

"It was of no fault of our own…we should have known that the girl would sabotage us." Maleficent sneered.

"Still…our objectives have not changed…we must find a way to prove our power to the worlds." The hooded figure said from his throne.

"Perhaps I might have just the experiment for you." Hojo said as he approached holding a fistful of research notes.

"What have you found?" Sanzun asked.

"One more experiment with science and darkness…only this time we use a subject with mako energy infused within them…" Hojo said as the figure thought intently.

"Go on…" The figure said.

"…and I have just the subject to use…a relatively new recruit into the ranks of SOLDIER…a second class SOLDIER who will be perfect to test…if the experiment works correctly it will bring about the end of SOLDIER and Midgar…who knows…it may also bring about the demise of our Keyblade wielding pests as well." Hojo said as Maleficent arched an interested eyebrow.

"I like where this is going." She said with an evil grin.

* * *

**Later…**

The Gummy ship dropped out of hyperspace over a dense jungle world as the crew prepared to disembark.

"So who's going down there and who's staying?" Cid asked as Ven stepped forward.

"I suggest we break into teams so we can find these ruins more easily." Ven suggested.

"Ok then…who's to what team?" Paine asked.

"Well…perhaps the same teams as when we were looking for Mune, only with Mickey, Kimahri, and Wall-e." Aerith suggested as everyone nodded.

"That ok with you two?" Terra asked the silent Destiny Island natives who just looked away from each other and nodded.

"Ok..." Terra said with an arched eyebrow as they split off into two groups.

Aqua, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and Mickey were in one group while Ven, Terra, Cid, Aerith, Kimahri and Wall-e were in another…Terra had switched teams with Paine.

As they prepared to disembark Ven was waiting next to the boarding ramp as Terra approached.

"Alright I want to know something…" he said as he looked at silent blond.

"What?" he asked.

"What happened between you two…I mean you're usually putting each other down like a pair of close siblings?" Terra asked referring to Ven and Aqua's stalwart silence.

Ven paused for a moment before answering.

"We just need some time apart is all." Ven said as Terra arched an eyebrow.

"I know people better than that…your acting like something happened that seriously-" Terra said as a thought crossed his mind, "…wait…did you sleep with her?"

Ven held up his hand with is index finger and thumb less than a centimeter apart.

"We came this close…even so…it's seriously injured our friendship…the thought of being…unfaithful…it sickens me…a lot." Ven replied.

"Oh…wow…you know I came that close with a friend of mine once…" Terra said as he leaned back against the railing.

"Really…what happened?" Ven asked.

"Her name was Vera…beautiful, blond, really into this play called Loveless…she had it memorized right down to the punctuation marks." Terra explained. "We've known each other since childhood. Then about a month after my marriage to Rikka, we're at a company conference in a beach world called Costa Del Sol. She was going through a bad break up with her boyfriend at the time and was rather vulnerable and attempted to get me into the sack…at first I didn't know her intentions...but fortunately I realized them before it was too late and stopped before we went too far."

"So what became of her?" Ven asked.

"She left the company…moved away…I haven't seen her since." Terra replied.

"Really?" Ven asked as Terra nodded, "Whoa."

"I just hope the same doesn't happen between you and Aqua like it did to me and Vera…You two are like brother and sister…the best of friends…I'd hate to see such a strong friendship end because of something that almost happened." Terra said as Ven thought silently.

* * *

**End Chapter 28.**

I know the chapter had a lot of questionable references but my mind fell in the gutter when I wrote this…feel free to flame this chapter…it's not my proudest work.

Also I found pictures of Ven, Terra, and Aqua's Keyblades on the KH wiki page.

Just click on the Keyblade tab under terminology and scroll down a bit, you should reach their Keyblades in no time.


	29. That's What Friends are for

The two teams disembarked and headed into the jungle covered world.

Ven and Terra's team headed off in one direction while Aqua and her team went in another. However due to the dense foliage they all got separated in no time.

Terra was hacking through the underbrush with his Keyblade as he came across a river.

"Oh great…how could this get any worse?" Terra said as he quickly clamped his mouth shut as he realized what he said.

After a moment he heard a rustling noise from nearby and he stood ready with his Keyblade prepared.

Then he heard what sounded like someone singing.

"_Look for the bare necessities  
The simple bare necessities  
Forget about your worries and your strife  
I mean the bare necessities  
Old Mother Nature's recipes  
That brings the bare necessities of life"_Then out of the bushes danced a big gray furred bear.

"Whoa!" Terra yelled as he jumped back and aimed the Keyblade at the bear.

"Hey, Hey watch where you point that thing little britches." The bear said as he swatted the Keyblade out of his face.

"IT TALKS?!" Terra yelled as Aerith, Wall-e, and Kimahri ran out of the bushes.

"Yeah I talk…what do ya think I am some big old dumb tiger?" the bear replied as Aerith quickly understood what was going on.

"Easy Terra he's ok." Aerith said as Terra gave her a disbelieving look.

"Huh?!" he asked.

"It's an old Cetra thing…the ancient Cetra found a way to give animals a personality. It looks like it's been passed down from generation to generation of the animals here." Aerith explained.

"Then who are you?" Terra asked the bear.

"The name's Baloo." The bear greeted happily.

"I'm Terra this is Aerith, Kimahri and the little guy there is Wall-e." Terra introduced.

"_Wwwallee."_

"Well welcome to the jungle folks." Baloo said as he tossed them all a banana from a nearby tree.

Wall-e eyed the banana curiously before tossing it in his chest cavity.

"You know big guy you remind me of friend of mine…a panther named Bagheera." Baloo said to Kimahri who had eaten the banana, peel and all, in one bite.

"Is Bagheera friendly?" Aerith asked as Baloo smiled and nodded.

"If he wasn't we wouldn't be friends now would we?" Baloo replied.

"What can you tell us about some of the native animals around here?" Aerith asked.

"Welp…let's see I told you about Bagheera…the wolf pack is harmless so long as you don't threaten them. You might want to stay away from Kaa the snake…he'll try to gobble you up for lunch…and above all else stay as far away from Shere Khan the Tiger as you can." Baloo explained.

"What's Khan's problem?" Terra asked.

"He hates men…and women…but there is one thing he fears the most…fire." Baloo replied.

"Hmm…do you know where we could find a set of old ruins?" Aerith asked.

"Ruins…you wouldn't mean the monkey palace would ya?" Baloo asked reluctantly.

"I guess so…unless you can think of any other ruins around." Terra replied.

Baloo groaned, "Ok…I guess we're off to go see old King Louie…be careful though he's kind of eager to learn how to make that fire you guys make."

"We'll keep that in mind." Terra said as they followed Baloo deeper into the jungle.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Of all the (Bleep) (Bleep) (Bleep) and (Bleeping) places to get lost in." Cid cursed as he stumbled through the woods. He then heard a rustling in the bushes and instinctively aimed his spear at it.

"Ok whatever is in there; better come out before they become a shish kabob." Cid ordered then rolled his eyes as Rikku, Yuna, and Mickey slowly rose up from behind the bush with their hands raised.

"What in the hell are you two doing there?!" Cid asked as the three shrugged.

"We got lost…you?" Yuna asked.

"(Sigh) the same." Cid replied.

"Welp…I guess we have nowhere else to go." Mickey said as Cid noticed a long black furry thing hanging down in front of his face.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance." A black panther said from a ledge above them.

"What the?!" Cid asked as he held his spear to the panther who swatted it away.

"Hey…save it for the Tiger." The panther replied.

"Tiger?" Yuna asked.

"Shere Khan…the terror of all who live within this jungle." The panther replied from his perch.

"Who are you?!" Rikku asked.

"I am Bagheera…don't worry I don't eat humans…or large mice." The panther replied.

"Good cause we like Mickey." Rikku said as she picked up the mouse and hugged him.

"Well now that I've introduced myself…perhaps you would like to introduce yourselves?" Bagheera asked.

"I'm Yuna, this is my cousin Rikku, this is our pilot Cid Highwind, and one of our companions Mickey Mouse." Yuna introduced as Bagheera jumped down to their level.

"An honor and a pleasure…but what are you doing here in the jungle?" Bagheera asked.

"We're looking for a bunch of ruins around here…ya don't happen to know where they are do ya?" Mickey asked as Bagheera groaned.

"Yes but it's controlled by King Louie…and unless you can show him how to make fire than there's not much you can do to get close to him." Bagheera replied.

"Why fire?" Cid asked.

"Who knows…something about wanting to be like men." Bagheera replied as they stalked off deeper into the jungle.

* * *

Paine was hacking her way through the jungle as she came across a hole in the ground.

She looked up and saw what appeared to be a vine, she grabbed a hold of it only to have it wind around her hand.

"Whatsss thisss?" a semi-raspy voice asked from the tree above.

"Whoa…a snake…why did it have to be snakes?" Paine asked herself.

"Yesss pretty one…I am a ssssnake." The large python said as he hung himself down to the SOLDIER's level.

"You talk? Oh wait never mind." Paine asked but quickly remembered the Cetra's ability to give ordinary creature's sentience.

"Sssso…what bringssss a sssscrumptious morsssal like you into the jungle?" the python asked as he looked her in the eyes.

"Well we're looking for some old ruins." Paine replied as the python's eyes started turning different colors.

"Ssso you run into old Kaa while you're ssssearching?" the python asked as Paine was slowly becoming entranced by the python's hypnotic eyes.

"Yes." She replied like in a monotone voice and Kaa started to wrap himself around her arms and pull her up into the trees.

Kaa wrapped himself around her and just before he could try to eat her, something hit him on the head sending him smashing into various branches and onto the ground right in front of Bagheera and the others.

They all looked up to see Paine standing triumphant against a branch.

"Ooh my sssinus…how did you break free?" Kaa asked as the SOLDIER jumped to the ground.

"SOLDIER training prevents all but the strongest of hypnosis…so I just played along you little worm." Paine said as she held her curved buster sword to the snake's throat.

"Ok good bye then!" Kaa yelled in fear as he started wriggling away as fast as he could until he slithered between two bamboo trees that were close together and was stopped by something. He looked back and saw that there was a knot tied in his tail.

As the others laughed Paine stood leaning against her sword with a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Come on let's go leave the snake to work out all the kinks in his tail." Paine advised as she fell in with the others.

"By the way…has anyone seen Aqua or Ven?" Yuna asked.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Aqua trudged alone through a large open prairie with a single tree in the center.

She was still rather bummed about her situation with Ven and had her head hung towards the ground.

She looked around and didn't see anyone so she just sat down on a stone underneath the tree.

After a while she heard a quartet of British sounding voices speaking from above her.

"Say Flaps…what do you wanna do?" "I dunno…what do you wanna do?" "I dunno…what do you wanna do?" "Say what about blue down there." "Good idea let's see what's got her down in the dumps."

Suddenly four Vultures landed in front of her.

"Whoa…shoo go away." Aqua said to the vultures.

"Uh excuse me miss!" the bald vulture said signaling to wait with one of his feathers.

"Wha- you talk?!" Aqua asked as the four nodded.

"Yep we sure do." A slightly red haired one replied.

"We were up in that tree there and saw you walk up with your head to the ground." A brown haired one with his hair over his eyes added.

"Yeah and we wanted to see if there was anything we could do to cheer you up." A blond haired one added.

"Thanks guys but…I have to sort this one out on my own." Aqua replied.

"Well what's wrong blue?" The blond one asked.

"Well…" she went on to explain about her situation with Ven, "…and now I feel like I've lost my only friend in the universe now."

"Aww no need to feel that way blue, he'll still be your friend!" the bald one said with a smile.

"Thanks for the thought." Aqua replied despairingly as the bald one looked at the other three.

"Hey hey fellas! Will we be her friend?!" he asked as the other three got into a row.

"_We're your friends  
We're your friends  
We're your friends to the bitter end (the bitter end)."_

They sang like a barbershop quartet.

"_When you're alone (When you're alone)  
Who comes around (Who comes around)  
To pluck you up (To pluck you up)  
When you are down (When you are down)"_Aqua sighed despairingly as they sang that last verse, completely unaware that Ven was coming up the hill behind her.

"_And when you're outside, looking in  
Who's there to open the door?  
That's what friends are for!"_They sang as she started to realize that Ven had always been there for her, and without him she wasn't…whole.

"_Who's always eager to extend  
A friendly claw?"_As they sang claw, two of them extended a claw to her which she smiled as she crossed her arms to shake them. Ven in the meantime noticed Aqua as the vultures started to dance around her as she tapped her foot.

"_That's what friends are for!  
And when you're lost in dire need  
Who's at your side at lightning speed?  
We're friends with every creature  
Comin' down the pike  
In fact we never met an animal  
We didn't like"_

They sang as the bald one then turned to her.

"Come on kid join in!"

"_Didn't like!" _the five of them sang in unison as the four flew into the air as they landed atop each other in a single stack of vultures.  
_  
_The four vultures sang as Aqua turned and noticed Ven smiling at her…he had heard everyone of the lyrics…but just as they hit the last note…

_"So you can see  
We're friends in need  
And friends in need  
Are friends indeed  
We'll keep you safe  
In the jungle for evermore!"_

"_That's what friends are for!"_

A deep menacing voice sang as they all turned to see a big Bengal tiger singing the last notes, causing the Vultures to scramble and put Aqua between them and the Tiger.

"Bravo, bravo…" the tiger said in a deep eloquent voice as he headed towards the two Keyblade wielders, "…and thank you for leading me to my prey."

"Hey now we never did anything of the sort now Mr. Kahn sir…" the bald one said as the other vultures cowered.

"Not intentionally no…now then man woman." The tiger said as he extended his claws, "I'll give you till the count of three…one…two…"

The tiger said as Ven snuck around him with his Keyblade summoned and as Khan reached three the tiger leapt towards Aqua only to be knocked away by a vicious blow from Ven's Keyblade.

"Stay away from my friend, tiger!" Ven yelled as Shere Khan pulled himself up and glared at the human as Aqua summoned her Keyblade. Khan roared at the two as the Vultures quickly grabbed stones from the ground nearby.

"Bombs away!!" they yelled as they dropped the rocks on the tiger as it started to rain.

Khan growled as he tried to swat the vultures away only to have Aqua begin a limit break called "Wave Rush."

She pulled the rain water onto the edge of her Keyblade and leapt into the air and unleashed a powerful blast of energy at the tiger who leapt out of the way. But the blast knocked him away and down to the ground…dead to the world.

Aqua landed and quickly pulled Ven into a hug.

"I'm so sorry that incident happened…I don't want us to be away from each other…we're better off as friends anyway." Aqua said tearfully as Ven futilely attempted to prevent from crying himself.

"I know…we are better as friends…we just have to remember that we're friends without the benefits." Ven laughed with tears running down his face as Aqua did the same.

"Yeah…come on let's go find the others." Aqua replied as she dried her tears and Ven dried his.

"Say…do these friends look anything like you?" the bald vulture asked.

"Yeah they're looking for some ruins." Ven replied.

"Ruins…we know where those are! We'll take you there." The bald one replied.

"Really?" Aqua asked.

"Sure…like we said…that's what friends are for?!" the blond replied.

"Yeah that's…what friends…are for." Ven said with a smile as he looked at Aqua who smiled back.

"Lead the way." Aqua said as the Vultures took to the sky with the other two running on the ground after them.

As they ran though they didn't see the Tiger pull himself up of the ground, he wasn't dead…he was only unconscious. He turned with a menacing look and then started after them.

* * *

**End Chapter 29.**

I've always liked the Vultures in that movie…especially the song they sing.


	30. King of the Jungle

When we last left our heroes they had been divided into three groups heading for the same destination…a set of ancient ruins controlled by the monkey king, King Louie.

Terra, Aerith, Kimahri, and Wall-e in one led by a Bear named Baloo.

Cid, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and Mickey were in another and led by a panther named Bagheera.

Finally Ven and Aqua were together and following a quartet of vultures…however they didn't suspect that they were being followed by the fierce Tiger known as Shere Khan.

Terra and Aerith were rather quiet as they walked along behind the others.

"Munny for your thoughts?" Aerith asked as she turned to Terra who smiled.

"I was just thinking of an old friend of mine from Midgar is all." Terra replied as Aerith knew instantly who he was referring too.

"Vera?" she asked as he looked at her surprised.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Vera and I are friends too…she would visit my church in the slums all the time and help with the flowers." Aerith said with a smile.

"Huh…I didn't think you knew her." Terra said as Baloo stopped.

"Hey Baggy, that you?!" Baloo yelled into the jungle as they all stopped and turned to see the rest of the group, sans Ven and Aqua, following behind a black panther.

"Baloo!" Bagheera said with a laugh, "I see you found the rest of their group."

"Hey you know me Baggy." Baloo said as Wall-e looked curiously at the panther.

"Hey wait a minute…" Rikku said as she looked around, "…we're missing someone."

"Wait you mean Ven and Aqua aren't with you?" Terra asked as the others shook their head.

"Oh boy…I hope their ok." Terra said worriedly as the two groups formed into one and continued on towards the Monkey palace.

Little did Terra know that they were more than ok…

"You slowpoke!! you call that running?!" Aqua shouted back at the blond with a smirk as they raced through the jungle. She then saw Ven drop through the trees ahead of her while flying along above the ground.

"Hey! That's cheating!!" she yelled.

"Ya Snooze Ya Lose!!" he shouted back as he flew off with the vultures nearly dying of laughter from the spectacle below.

"Do you even know how to fly?!" Aqua shouted.

"How hard could it-OOF!!" Ven said as he crashed head first into a certain blue Ronso…causing the blue haired woman to stop and collapse as she nearly had a stroke from laughter.

"Kimahri sorry." Kimahri said as he picked up the cold cocked blond.

"It's ok Kimahri…it was my own fault." Ven said as he glared at the laughing blue haired woman and four vultures that landed on a branch nearby.

"Uh…can I gather from the competitive taunting that…you two have patched things up?" Terra asked Ven who smiled and nodded.

"Hey guys look!!" Paine said as everyone turned to look at her. They then saw she was pointing straight ahead. As they looked up their eyes widened as they saw a large palace made of stone in the distance.

"Next stop…the Monkey Palace!" Baloo said as they joined together and walked on towards the palace.

As they approached they were suddenly ambushed by a swarm of screeching chimpanzees. In the confusion they didn't notice as they were being forced inward towards the ruins until finally reaching a single chamber and instantly the chimps scrambled out of the way. They all turned to see a rather fat orangutan sitting comfortably on a throne made of stone…but at the base of the throne was a familiar swirl pattern.

"Hey, hey king Louie! Guess what we found monkeying around outside the palace!!" one of the monkeys said as the orangutan looked the group over.

"Well so these are the ones that have been running around my jungle…crazy." Louie said as his eyes rolled in opposite directions. He then leapt off the throne and landed on his hands.

"Uh…oh wise King Louie…we come seeking an object of great value to us." Terra said with a bow as the orangutan waltzed towards him.

"Well then cous…it looks like we're both after something of value…I'll make a deal with ya…you teach me how to make man's red fire and I'll give you whatever you want." Louie said with a smile as Wall-e rolled up next to Terra.

"Well Uhh…" Terra said as Wall-e tugged on his pants leg.

"_Wwwallee." _Wall-e said as he opened up his cavity and threw two claws full of old used tissues onto the ground and fired a small red laser beam from between his eyes, causing the tissues to ignite and burst into flame as the monkeys, King Louie included, oohed and awed at the sight.

"Since when could he do that?" Cid asked as Terra face palmed.

"Since he was built…its part of his design." Terra replied as King Louie turned towards Terra.

"How about a trade cous…the fire box for the thing you're looking for." King Louie replied as Terra shook his head.

"No deal…Wall-e is our friend and we're not leaving him here unless he wants to stay here." Terra replied as Aqua doused the flames with a small fist full of water magic.

"Now look cous…I want that thing to show me how to make fire…and if I say I want something…I get it." Louie said as he narrowed his eyes at Terra.

"What are you gonna do about it ape?!" Terra challenged as the others prepped their weapons.

Meanwhile the Vultures watched the brewing conflict from a nearby branch.

"Say Flaps…do you think we out to help em?" the bald one asked as the blond one looked towards him and opened his beak to say something before his eyes went wide as he saw something nearby.

"Well?" the bald one asked as the blond turned the bald one's head in the same direction.

"T-T-T-TIGER!!" they yelled in unison as everyone below froze and turned as Shere Khan leapt out of the bushes causing the Monkeys to scatter in fear.

"I thought we killed that thing!?" Ven yelled as the Tiger growled.

"You made quite a mistake human…now you don't get a CHANCE!!" Khan roared as he pounced towards Ven only to be intercepted by Kimahri who roared in his face as the Tiger dropped to the floor.

Khan turned and roared back at the Ronso as they started circling each other.

Terra then looked up and saw a branch hanging by a single vine…it had brown leaves. Terra then looked at Wall-e and a thought popped into his mind.

"Psst…Ven, Aqua, I got a plan…" Terra whispered as the two beasts finally lunged towards each other and erupted into a literal cat fight.

In the meantime Terra quickly snapped the branch out of the vines and Aqua waited for a moment before running in and quickly tying the branch into Khan's tail.

Khan noticed and lunged at her but was knocked away by Ven's Keyblade.

"I thought I told you to stay away from my friend!!" Ven yelled.

"WALL-E NOW!!" Terra yelled as Wall-e rolled heroically towards the tiger with the banana from earlier in hand. As Khan started to climb up Wall-e squeezed the fruit from the end causing the banana to fly out of the peel and splatter in the tiger's eyes. He quickly rolled around towards the branch and fired the laser igniting the branch.

Khan wiped the banana from his eyes as he turned angrily towards Wall-e but noticed the burning branch near his tail and let out a frightened roar. He started running around like mad trying get the fire away but as he skidded to a stop the branch flew over his head and landed right in front of his face causing him to cower in fear for a moment before bolting off towards the open prairie nearby with the fire following every step of the way.

Our heroes, the Monkeys, Baloo and Bagheera were all laughing as the once fearsome tiger had been made out to be a big frayede cat.

"On second though Cous…" King Louie said to Terra as he hung down from a branch above.

"How about I apologize and you get what you're after?" Louie asked as Terra smirked and held out his hand as the orangutan extended one of his feet and they both shook, sealing the deal.

"Ok Kimahri…we need your muscle." Aerith said as she and the Ronso walked over to the throne.

"Can you lift this up?" she asked as Kimahri nodded and lifted the large throne chair off the ground, revealing a rectangular object wrapped in an old cloth with the swirling symbol shaped like a keychain sitting on top of it. Aerith quickly grabbed the object and moved out of the way as Kimahri gently put the throne back.

* * *

**An hour later…**

After bidding their newfound animal friends farewell, our heroes returned to the gummy ship and headed off for space once again.

"So where do we go to next Aerith?" Terra asked as Aerith unfurled the copy of the Sheppard's Journal from its wrapper and started looking through it.

"I'm not sure yet…give me a few minutes to look through it and compare it with the original and I may have an answer." Aerith said as a small beeping noise from a nearby console caught everyone's attention.

"I think we may have an answer…we got ourselves an incoming message from Angeal." Cid said as he punched a few buttons on the console and a hologram of the first class SOLDIER appeared in the center of the room.

"Angeal…what do you got for us?" Terra said to the hologram.

"_Bad news I'm afraid…someone broke into Reeve's lab and stole AUTO." _Angeal said as Terra groaned.

"Well he's already succeeded in his directives…what more use could he be to them?" Terra asked.

"_Beats me but if Hojo's hand is in this…I'll be sure to catch his grimy claw in the cookie jar." _Angeal said as a familiar young voice could be heard laughing in the background.

"Is that Zack?" Terra asked as Angeal nodded.

"_Also the reason I called…I sent Cloud to investigate the matter…and he's been overdue for an hour now…I'm getting worried." _Angeal said as Paine arched an eyebrow.

"_I've checked with AVALANCHE and if he's down there, they haven't seen him." _Angeal added.

"Sounds like we're heading back to Midgar." Ven said as Aerith could since a presence that was familiar to her.

"_If you could break away from what you're doing and come help find him, I would be greatly appreciative." _Angeal requested as Terra shrugged.

"We do owe him one after all he's done for us." Terra said as the others nodded in agreement.

"We'll be there in a flash Angeal." Aqua said as she approached the hologram.

"_Thank you…I'll be working to get the necessary docking permissions for you guys…Angeal Out._" Angeal said as the hologram disappeared.

"Why is it we are either heading to Midgar or Radiant Garden after every world we go to?" Rikku asked as everyone shrugged.

"Come on Aqua; let's go fix the heating in your room." Ven said as the two friends left the room.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Cloud struggled to open his eyes, but almost the second he did…he wished he hadn't.

He was within a deep underground laboratory of sorts and was bound to an operating table.

"Hello?!" he called, but was greeted with silence.

"Hello!!" he called out again but this time he heard the door open and someone walk in.

"Ah the subject is awake." An all too familiar voice said.

"Excellent…inform the master that we are about to begin our experiment." A woman's voice said as from out of the shadows Professor Hojo and a dark horned woman emerged.

"You won't get away with this Hojo!" Cloud said as he tried to break his bonds.

"Put him under." Hojo said as he ignored the SOLDIER's comment and the woman's staff started to glow.

As Cloud started to feel himself drift asleep he heard Hojo give one last order…

"Bring in…the head!"

* * *

**Later…**

The group was disembarking from the gummy ship at the BNL tower as Angeal, Zack, Shera, Reeve, and a man with glasses in a purple colored business suit with white hair waited for them on the platform.

"Angeal…oh director Lazard…it is an honor to meet the director of SOLDIER." Terra said as he saw the white haired man.

"Actually from what Angeal tells me the honor is mine." Lazard replied as he and Terra shook hands.

"So what's the situation?" Ven asked as he approached.

"We still haven't found AUTO but that won't be difficult…only three of his model were made…and the other two were double checked for that directive Angeal mentioned." Lazard explained.

"Any word on Cloud?" Aqua asked as Angeal shook his head.

"I just hope he doesn't meet the same fate as Vincent." Angeal said as everyone nodded in agreement.

"So where would start looking for Cloud?" Paine asked.

"I wish we knew." Angeal said.

"Perhaps…I can help." A gruff voice said from nearby as everyone turned to see a semi-familiar face atop a nearby radio tower.

"Vincent?!" they said in surprise as the ex-Turk landed on the platform.

"By Minerva…" Angeal said as he took a step back.

"I can sense the darkness…it is stronger near the slums." Vincent said as Aqua walked up towards him.

"Ok…I guess we have a lead." Aqua said with a smile towards the gunman.

"Also…Terra…" Vincent said as he turned to the Knight of the land.

"An old friend of yours is in town…she's waiting for us in the abandoned church at the Slums." Vincent said as Terra looked at him surprised.

"Vera?!" Terra asked as Vincent nodded.

"Wait…how did you know she was a friend of mine?" Terra asked as Vincent just smiled and turned towards Aqua.

"Are you the one who just lifted my cell-phone?" he asked as Aqua smirked.

"Maybe." She said as Vincent grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand from her pocket revealing it to be holding a red cell-phone with the Cerberus symbol emblazoned on the cover. Vincent scowled as he yanked it from her hand.

"Aqua I thought you had given up that old pick-pocket routine?" Ven asked as Aqua shrugged and tossed him a small brown object. Ven caught it, and opened it…it was his wallet.

"Oh then I guess you won't be needing this?" Ven asked as he held up a decorative blue wallet with a stylish letter A on the cover. Aqua quickly checked her pocket and scowled at the smirking blond as she swiped back her wallet.

"Can we get going?!" Zack asked impatiently.

"Zack, you are going nowhere…you're only a third class and this mission entails a second class at minimum." Angeal said as Zack looked hurt.

"But Cloud's my friend…I can't just sit by and let them do what they will with him." Zack argued.

"Be that as it may…I think it would be safer if you remained here." Angeal replied as Rikku bounced up and down, waving her arms in the air.

"E'MM CDYO!! E'MM CDYO!!" she shouted. (I'LL STAY!! I'LL STAY!!)

"Al Bhed?" Angeal asked as Terra nodded and rolled his eyes simultaneously.

"Ok…you can stay Rikku." Ven said with a chuckle as the others turned to leave.

"Come on Zack…let's 'go to your room." Rikku said with a wink and making air quotes as the others weren't looking.

Zack understood and nodded, returning the wink, as the two headed for the SOLDIER dorms and Reeve and Lazard headed back into the building.

* * *

**End Chapter 30.**

I wonder what Rikku and Zack are planning…I guess we'll find out in the next chapter.

I'm sure that many of you can imagine what is going to happen to Cloud...but be kind and don't put it in your review okie?


	31. Birth of a Monster

Our heroes (Sans Rikku, Zack, Kimahri, Wall-e, and Mickey,) and Angeal and Vincent rode a secret elevator down to the slums and quickly made their way to the abandoned church.

Terra was the first one inside, followed by Aerith, and then the rest of the group.

"Vera?! Vera you in here?!" Terra called out.

It remained silent for a moment until a female voice replied…

"_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess  
We seek it thus, and take it to the sky  
Ripples form on the water's surface  
The wandering soul knows no rest."_

Then they saw a young woman with long blond hair stand up from near the flower bed. She was dressed in a decorative white dress with golden symbols on it, and a split right down the middle revealing her midriff. Her clothes appeared to be some form of ceremonial armor, but it was incomplete with her right leg unarmored with only the boot.

"Loveless act one." Terra said as he approached with a smile.

She smiled back at him and the two hugged.

"I've missed you…" Terra whispered into her ear.

"I've missed you too…" she replied as they broke the embrace.

"Oh allow me to introduce you to my friends…" Terra said as he went through introducing each of his companions, sans Aerith whom she already knew.

"So you've known each other a long time huh?" Cid asked.

"Yep…you could say she's my equivalent to Ven's Aqua." Terra said as Ven shook his head.

"In that case…my deepest sympathies." Ven said as Aqua elbowed him in the rib cage.

"So where have you been hiding these past five years?" Terra asked as Vera shrugged.

"I've been traveling…going where the wind…or in lieu thereof, the Lifestream takes me." She replied as everyone but Aerith, Terra, Angeal, and Vincent arched an eyebrow.

"The what?" Aqua asked.

"The Lifestream is the energy that courses through and between each world and every living creature…it is our very life force." Vera explained.

"And catching a glimpse of it is incredibly rare." Terra added.

"They say that the Lifestream is sentient however…it usually manifests itself in human form and uses the being it creates as it's avatar…they usually refer to the avatar as Minerva…the goddess." Vera continued.

"As much as I'm enjoying the lesson about Lifestreams and the like…" Aqua interrupted, "…but don't we have a friend to rescue?"

"She's right…Sorry Vera but I have to go." Terra said as she smiled and they started to leave.

"Need to find Cloud?" she asked as they whirled around with a look of surprise.

"How-"Terra was about to ask as Vera knelt down to the flowers as one of them started to blossom.

"Y-you're a Cetra?" Terra asked as Vera looked at him and smiled with a giggle.

"In a way…Cloud needs your help…as we speak…he is being transformed into a monster similar to Chaos…but far more dangerous." Vera said as Terra walked back over to her.

"What are you talking about?" Terra asked as Aerith stumbled backwards with a moan and placed her hand to her head.

"She…she's here…" Aerith said in fear as Vera nodded sadly.

"Who's here?" Ven asked.

"The Heaven's dark harbinger…" Vincent said, "…the Calamity from the skies…Jenova."

"Jenova?! The leader of the Calamities?! Cid asked as Vincent nodded.

"Now how do you know this?!" Yuna asked.

"Chaos…" Vincent replied, "…his spirit is fused within me…and I can listen to the Lifestream like the Cetra…and I can feel the presence of the Calamity nearby…tainting the Lifestream of a living being."

"But I thought Jenova was destroyed?" Aqua asked.

"No…defeated and killed yes…but completely destroyed?" Vincent replied.

"It took the Lifestream itself to destroy her…" Vera explained, "…and in the end all that was left of her…was her head which crashed on this very world…Midgar is built over the crater…though hardly anyone knows this."

"And Hojo has somehow obtained her head." Vincent added as Ven scratched his head.

"What good will her head do?" Ven asked.

"I can answer that one…" Angeal replied, "…according to the legends of the Cetra war…the Calamities had a unique genetic composition that granted them a powerful resistance to the side-effects of using the darkness, but at the cost of their resistance to the light…Jenova however had altered her cells to be a perfect balance…she was immune to both the negative effects of Light and Darkness."

"So if someone had her cells…" Terra said worriedly.

"It would make the perfect warrior to fight against the light." Vera replied.

"But what about against darkness?" Ven asked.

"It wouldn't matter…they could fight either and still be superior." Vincent replied.

"Then we really need to hurry." Yuna said as they all nodded and ran out of the room.

From inside the church Vera watched them leave…

"_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul  
Pride is lost  
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh."_

She said as she turned away.

* * *

**Meanwhile in Radiant Garden…**

Ansem sat looking over some papers in his study as the door slammed open and a man with long blond hair wearing a lab coat burst in.

"Ansem sir!! Dr. Crescent has awoken!!" he said as Ansem practically leapt over the desk and ran towards the medical ward.

"Thanks for the alert Even…" Ansem said as the scientist nodded while they ran into the ward.

Lucrecia was sitting upright though her mood was far from happy…

"Dr. Crescent…" Ansem said as he walked into her room.

"Ansem…" she said as she started crying.

"Easy dear…easy…" he said as he consoled her.

"Now Lucrecia I need you to focus…what did your captors have at their disposal?" Ansem said as she regained her composure.

"They had…they had plenty of equipment and materials…but above all else the one thing that stood out the most…they had the head of Jenova within their possession." Lucrecia said as Ansem's eyes widened.

"Jenova?!" he said shocked.

"There's more…Hojo was trying to find a suitable candidate to test his new theory on Jenova cells mixed with Mako energy in a living host…he had chosen a member of Midgar's SOLDIER division…a man named Cloud Strife." She said as Ansem furrowed his brow.

"The process they were going to use on him was similar to the process they used on Vincent but with only a few minor differences…but what they do is they amplify the darkness within the heart of the subject and then infuse the cells." She explained.

"I pray then that the Knights get to the man before it's too late." Ansem said as Lucrecia sighed.

"There's more…they also had a rare type of materia called Black Materia…" she added as Ansem's eyes widened.

"Now that I've heard of…" Ansem said as he ran out the door and stopped one of the passing scientists…

"Dilan have you seen the intern around here anywhere?" Ansem asked as the dreadlocked scientist paused for a moment.

"Yeah his 'girlfriend' is with him though…they're in the library as usual." Dilan replied as Ansem headed off for the Library.

Ansem entered the library moments later to find a young, red haired, ten year old, boy sitting reading a thick Lexicon with a fidgeting eight year old girl sitting next to him.

"Ienzo I need to speak with your friend here for a moment." Ansem said as they both looked up at him.

"Hi Mr. Ansem!" the girl said excitedly.

"Yuffie correct?" Ansem asked as she shook her head.

"Nope it's Yuffie Kisaragi...not Yuffie Correct…why do people always say my name wrong?" she asked herself as Ansem gave the silent red head a look of "And you hang around this girl…why?"

"Yuffie I have a question to ask you regarding materia." Ansem said as she put her hands behind her back innocently.

"What materia?" she asked innocently.

"Black Materia." Ansem replied as her eyes went wide and she stepped back a bit.

"Who has black materia?!" she asked nervously.

"Someone very bad in another world." Ansem replied, "Now what do you know about it?"

"Black Materia is like a summon materia…though it summons something horrible called Meteor…they say meteor can destroy a whole world." Yuffie explained as Ansem sighed.

"It is as I feared…thank you Yuffie…and for your troubles…take this." Ansem said as he tossed her a small green sphere of materia and ran to his private computer room. Ansem ran inside to find one of the scientists working on the computer.

"Mr. Bradley I'm afraid I must insist that you relinquish the computer for a moment…it is urgent that I get a message to Midgar." Ansem said as the scientist nodded and backed away from the computer.

"Sorry about interrupting your research Alan but it is a life or death situation." Ansem said as he hastily typed an E-mail for Angeal.

"No problem Ansem…I can wait." Alan said as he turned towards a large round machine in the back of the room.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The heroes ran through the slums at high speed as Angeal's cell phone started beeping.

"This way!" Vincent said as he led them towards a pile of rubble.

"Uh-oh." Angeal said as he read the e-mail on his phone.

"What?" Terra asked.

"It's Ansem…he says that the enemy has in their possession a powerful summon materia called Black Materia." Angeal explained as Aerith's eyes widened with fear.

"We have to get that thing away from them!" Aerith said as Angeal quickly whipped out the buster sword.

"Stand back!" he yelled as he charged the rubble only for a number of small flashes of light appeared at seemingly random spots around it.

Angeal stopped and stepped back as the pile collapsed revealing a long dark tunnel behind it.

"Angeal…please tell me that's you." Aqua said as Angeal shook his head.

"No…it's not." He replied as a silver and black blur flew out from the tunnel and Angeal blocked the blow from a very long katana sword.

"Good to see you…Angeal." A silver haired man with a deep voice said as he glared at him with an evil smile on his face.

"Who are you? Where's Cloud?!" Angeal yelled as he repelled the man. The man was wearing a black variation of the SOLDIER uniform, only with a long black leather trench coat over it and silver shoulder pads.

"Cloud is right here…but he isn't available to speak right now Angeal." The man replied.

"Who are you?!" Terra yelled as the three Keyblade knights ran forward with their Keyblades summoned.

"They call me…Sephiroth." The man replied. (Music Cue: One Winged Angel – Crisis Core version)

"Yuna, Aerith, Cid, stay back…we can handle him." Ven said as Paine joined the group and Sephiroth entered his battle stance. Behind the dark warrior the tunnel caved in, permanently sealing off whatever lay inside.

"You honestly think you're a match for all of us?" Angeal asked as Sephiroth smirked.

"I can try." He replied. Then as quick a flash he flew towards Paine who swiftly blocked the blows for a while, before finally getting run through the leg.

"Paine!" Yuna yelled as Aqua started in on the dark SOLDIER. Her skill was proving to be somewhat challenging for the SOLDIER but he unfortunately made a quick move and slashed her across the stomach.

"No one does that to my friend and gets away with it!!" Ven yelled as he literally flew into action, but his anger got the best of him as Sephiroth knocked him upside the head with the kilt of his sword then grabbed him by the throat and held him in the air.

"Ironic isn't it…the Knight of the sky…and there's no air to breathe." Sephiroth said as Ven gasped for air shortly before getting tossed away like a rag doll.

Angeal leapt into action next. Vincent would have helped him had Terra held him back.

"Vincent if Angeal and I both fail, you will need to protect the others while they escape." Terra said as Vincent nodded approvingly. As Yuna, Aerith, Cid, and Vincent helped drag back the injured and crippled forms of their companions, Sephiroth and Angeal were going at full kilter as Terra joined the fray. Sephiroth knocked away Angeal though without injury to either as he noticed Terra heading straight towards him.

"Ooh…where did you find this strength?" Sephiroth asked calmly as his sword met with Terra's Keyblade.

"I don't fight with my mind Sephiroth…" Terra said as for once he flung the swordsman away, "…I fight with my heart!"

"So you fight with your heart?" Sephiroth asked as he stood up, "I wonder how well you fight with all the sins you have committed weighing you down…"

Sephiroth started to ascend into the air with his hands turned open.

"Descend…Heartless Angel."

As the words left his mouth, a halo appeared for a second over Terra's head. As it vanished Terra doubled over in pain and dropped to his knees barely able to keep from falling down completely. His voice was quivering as if in great pain. Sephiroth smirked as he landed and slowly walked towards the trembling Terra.

"You should have never tried to fight the darkness." Sephiroth said as he raised his sword and as he brought it down he found it blocked by Angeal's buster sword.

Suddenly Terra felt a burst of strength as he noticed Aerith with her hands folded in a prayer like stance. Terra smiled and took a swing towards Sephiroth with the Keyblade. But Sephiroth blocked the blow and knocked him away. Now it was just Angeal and Sephiroth again.

Sephiroth made an amused "humph" as their two swords came together in a bright yet brief flash of light.

"Cloud I know you're in there…you can fight it…I know you can!" Angeal said as Sephiroth's eye twitched and his eyes and the silver haired man clinched his teeth as if trying to maintain control before finally throwing Angeal away in one move with an agonized growl.

A faint strand of blond hair appeared over his eye but vanished after Sephiroth regained control.

Angeal charged at Sephiroth again but the warrior was prepared this time and blocked the attack as Sephiroth reached over Angeal's shoulder and grabbed something. Angeal then leapt back and charged one more time.

Terra at that moment sat up and watched in horror as he saw Angeal charge straight into his own basic issue SOLDIER blade. The blade was sticking through his back as he staggered back slightly and dropped the blade as Sephiroth smirked.

"NOOOO!!" Terra yelled as he leapt forward and started swinging wildly at Sephiroth but each blow was blocked until finally Sephiroth sliced him across the chest.

"I think we all know who is superior now…" Sephiroth said as Terra fell backwards to the ground.

"But there's still one SOLDIER you've missed Cloud!!" a young familiar voice said from nearby as everyone who could turned to see…

"Zack…" Terra grunted out as the spiky black haired, ten year old, charged forward with sword in hand.

They all went wide eyed at what happened next…

* * *

**End Chapter 31…**

I wonder what will happen next…who will live…and who will die?

Well I know...I'm the author for crying out loud.


	32. Death of a Hero

Zack charged at the silver haired swordsman who dodged as the boy swung his blade at him. But to everyone's surprise the tip of Zack's blade had a small bit of blood on it…everyone looked and saw a long cut across Sephiroth's right leg.

Sephiroth turned with a hurt expression towards Zack who held his blade in a battle stance. Sephiroth's eye started twitching like mad as Cloud fought hard to retake control.

Zack then leapt into the air as Sephiroth, for an instant, regained control and started to swing at the boy. But it was all according to Zack's plan; as Sephiroth blocked the blow Zack quickly swung his leg around and kicked the swordsman across the jaw and then landed on the ground…now ain't that a kick in the head?

Sephiroth started twitching and Cloud's familiar spiked blond hair appeared as he retook control of his body.

"Zack…kill me." He struggled to say as Aerith shook her head.

"There is no need to do that Cloud." Aerith said as she looked up and a glowing green light appeared as a wisp like being descended from a hole in the plate above, illuminating the whole of the slums in a brilliant green light…it was Minerva…avatar of the Lifestream.

As Minerva reached the ground she took the form of a woman clad in gold ceremonial armor with a white dress beneath similar to Vera's.

"_Heart of darkness and heart of light…separate but both narrowed of sight…Sephiroth and Cloud Strife…a single tortured soul for life…independent of each other they shall be…Says the goddess for eternity."_ Minerva said as a brilliant green light erupted around Cloud and the silhouettes of two beings appeared on both sides of him and physically materialized.

As the light faded, Minerva with it, Cloud stood in his red SOLDIER uniform holding his buster sword. To his left was Sephiroth and to his right was a third man in a uniform almost exactly like Sephiroth's except his trench coat was a crimson red along with a fair portion of his uniform and all of his hair. The shoulder pads were also black.

"Oh boy…now who's the new guy?!" Zack asked as the three men looked at each other and Cloud instinctively jumped out of the way towards Zack as the crimson man and Sephiroth brought their swords together with a loud clang. The crimson man had a sword similar to Sephiroth's except it was as crimson as his uniform.

"Genesis, stay out of this!" Sephiroth said to the crimson man as Cloud charged forward with his buster sword as the other two swung their weapons again and all three of their swords clanged together.

"I wish I could." The crimson man said emotionless, "But we are both part of Cloud…and if you long to do him harm then I cannot let you succeed."

Then simultaneously they leapt into the air towards the hole in the plate and flew through it bringing the battle to the surface. Shortly after they flew through the hole, the light emanating from above faded away as dark clouds blocked the sun.

"ANGEAL!!" Zack shouted as he turned to see his mentor bleeding on the ground. He ran towards him and landed on one knee beside him.

"Zack…" he said weakly, "…I've never been…more…proud of anyone…in my life till…now."

"Angeal you got to get up…" Zack begged as the SOLDIER struggled to grasp his Buster sword and drag it towards the young boy.

"My time is over Zack…" he whispered, "…you are by far…my greatest…pupil…I want you…to take this…"

Angeal motioned to the buster sword as he placed his hand on the boy's cheek.

"I…hereby proclaim…you…a first class…SOLDIER." Angeal said as Zack grasped the man's wrist.

"But…I don't want you to go…not yet." Zack said as he tried to prevent from crying.

"We all…must leave at some…point Zack…" Angeal grimaced as he could sense Zack holding back the tears, "…let it go…show your…emotion Zack…cry…there is no…sin…in it…Men cry not for themselves…but…for their comrades."

As soon as he said it a tear ran down Zack's cheek. Angeal then turned his head and noticed Vincent, who walked towards his dying friend.

"Vince…" Angeal said, "…It's been an honor."

"That it has Angeal…see you on the other side?" Vincent asked as Angeal nodded with a smile. Vincent proceeded to stand up and walk back to where he was standing. (Music Cue: Why – Ayaka)

Then just like she had exited, Minerva appeared again and walked towards Angeal.

"_It is time…Angeal Hewley…Hero of Midgar…There is no hate only joy…for you are beloved by the goddess…Hero of the dawn…Healer of worlds…it is time to awaken." _Minerva said as she took Angeal by the hand and pulled him up onto his feet, leaving the sword once impaled in his stomach behind on the ground.

Everyone watched with a combination of awe and sadness as Angeal smiled and two large white wings appeared on his shoulders as he turned one last time to Zack.

"_Protect your honor, always."_

He said as with one great beat of his wings he flew off into a great beam of light and vanished, along with Minerva, to the Lifestream.

After a moment Paine limped towards Zack, using her sword as a makeshift crutch. She stopped in front of the boy and held out her free hand.

She smiled as Zack reached up and grabbed a hold of it as she helped pull him up.

He then looked the buster sword over in his hand.

"I'm not ready for this yet." he said as he wrapped the sword in a large long cloth and then grabbed the smaller sword that was once embedded within Angeal.

"For the time being." Zack said as he turned and put down the buster sword and unsheathed his own sword and drove it into the ground where Angeal's blood was still soaking into the ground.

Terra also limped over towards the scene as he held his side.

"His legacy…shall live on." Terra said as the others nodded.

After a moment Paine placed a hand on Zack's shoulder.

"Orders…Sir?" she asked with a smile as Zack sheathed the smaller sword and picked up the buster sword.

He then turned to her and with a determined look said…

"Let's go bring Cloud back to his senses." Zack said as he, along with Yuna, Rikku, Aerith, Cid, and Vincent, started helping the others back up to the surface.

* * *

**Later on the surface…**

Nearly the entire city was in a panic…it was practically a free for all in the city above. The BNL military was practically useless against the might of the dark SOLDIER. Speaking of SOLDIER, director Lazard was deploying every second and third class SOLDIERs age fourteen and older at the dark warrior…but the only good they were doing was further increasing Sephiroth's kill tally.

All the SOLDIERs thirteen years and younger were helping to coordinate mass evacuation efforts to get the surface dwellers down to the slums where they would be safer. Reeve was put in charge of the evacuation as it was becoming more and more like a warzone. The only one's even able withstand against Sephiroth was Cloud and the mysterious crimson man, Genesis.

Our heroes limped back to the surface in the secret elevator with Zack now in a purple colored uniform and carrying the buster sword in his arms.

"Zack, thank the worlds you're ok…" Lazard said as Zack entered the SOLDIER command center alone.

"Wait…where's Angeal?" Lazard asked as Zack lowered his head.

"He was the first to fall at Sephiroth's hands." Zack said as he held up the buster sword and Lazard lowered his head.

"Minerva help us." Lazard whispered mournfully…then noticed Zack's purple colored uniform.

"Why are you wearing a first class uniform?" Lazard asked.

"While I doubt anyone will believe me besides my uncle and his friends…but Angeal made me a first class before he died." Zack said as Lazard smiled.

"They may not believe your word…but they'll believe Angeal's will." Lazard replied.

"Huh?" Zack asked.

"Angeal recently updated his will…in it he said if he were ever to die while you were still his pupil…he wanted you to be instantly promoted to first class…the promotion is legit." Lazard said as Zack's eyes widened.

"WHAT?!" he said surprised.

"Hey, do you know how old Angeal was when he became a first class?" Lazard asked as Zack shrugged.

"He was eleven years old." Lazard said as Zack's eyes widened. "He saw in you the same potential that his mentor saw in him. You reminded him exactly of himself…which is why he was more than eager to accept you as his pupil…"

"I never would have thought." Zack said while lost in his thoughts.

"Well then…Zackary Fair…allow me to be the first…to welcome you into the ranks of the first class of SOLDIER." Lazard said as he shook the boy's hand.

"You know…" Zack said as he thought, "…I think the 'Keepers of Honor' are going to be heartbroken to hear Angeal's dead."

"Yes they will be Zack…" Lazard said as a slightly older and brown haired girl in a third class uniform ran up to Lazard.

"Director Lazard sir!" she said with a salute, "The enemy has just slain First class Dugan and we still cannot find third class Rui."

"Damn it…who do we still have out there?" Lazard asked.

"Second class Strife and that mysterious man in red are still battling it out with him." She replied.

"Thank you Elfe…keep me posted." Lazard replied as the girl saluted and ran off.

"Sir!" Zack said as he saluted, "First class Zack Fair reporting for duty sir!"

"I admire your courage Zack…" Lazard replied, "…but there is…who the hell are you?!"

Zack turned around to see Vincent emerging from the elevator.

"Oh that's Vincent Valentine…he was a friend of Angeal's." Zack replied.

"I can help out…just point me where you need me." Vincent said as Terra limped out from the elevator as well.

"Vincent suffered a similar procedure as Cloud and can probably hold his own against Sephiroth…and Zack can help give Cloud the encouragement he so desperately needs." Terra explained.

"Sephiroth? Is that the name of the beast that's slaughtered nearly half of SOLDIER's ranks?" Lazard asked as Terra nodded.

"He is the embodiment of the darkness within Cloud's heart…I don't have a clue what the red guy stands for." Terra replied.

"Cloud must have had a (Naughty word) full of baggage to have created a beast like that." Lazard said.

"Actually that's not the case at all…" Vincent replied, "…the process used on him amplified the darkness in his heart…otherwise Sephiroth wouldn't even exist in the form he does now."

"Believe it or not Director Lazard sir…Zack is the only one of us who landed a successful blow against him." Terra said as Zack interrupted.

"I hate to break it to you…but that's because he was still possessing Cloud's body and Cloud was still had some control of his mind." Zack corrected.

"That doesn't mean that you can't do it again." Terra said as Zack nodded.

"You're right…I have to try…and if anything else…I have to try for Midgar's sake…and in Angeal's honor." Zack said with a new found determination.

"Alright...you and Valentine go." Lazard said as Zack and Vincent saluted and ran down the hall.

"I better inform the field commanders that Zack isn't impersonating a first." Lazard said as Terra nodded and limped to a chair and sat down.

"Have a nurse check you out…I don't want a Keyblade knight bleeding all over the place." Lazard said as Terra gave a chuckle, and instantly regretted doing so.

"I did…all the doctors are busy…and Yuna already cast curaga on me…" Terra said as he sat up in realization.

"Wait…Yuna…" he said as Lazard looked at him strangely.

"Who?" He asked.

"Yuna…she's a Spiran Summoner…she has the command of several powerful beasts at her disposal…but she can only control one at a time." Terra explained.

"Perhaps she could summon one of her beasts for us?" Lazard asked as Terra nodded.

"We could ask." Terra replied as Lazard picked up the phone.

* * *

**Outside…**

From atop a rocky cliff ledge miles outside the city, a dark hooded visage, Maleficent, Sanzun, and Professor Hojo stood facing the city with a smirk.

"Well done professor…" the visage said, "…you have not only created a successful experiment but also created the weapon that will lay waste to Midgar."

"A great honor if I do say so myself." Hojo said with a smile.

"With all the confusion…we can now retrieve some of our imprisoned henchmen." Sanzun said with his helmet under his arm.

"None of them are of any use to us now…however…there is one thing that intrigues me." The visage said as he turned to Sanzun.

"Did you acquire those blood samples I asked for?" the visage asked as Sanzun handed the visage a small metal box.

"Excellent…take these to our ally under the city…tell him it is to help him increase his numbers." The visage said as Sanzun donned his helmet and vanished in a black portal with the box in hand.

"It will take him years to create the clones." Hojo said as the figure nodded.

"Under normal circumstances true…but you greatly underestimate him…however it will take at minimum ten years to create and train the clones to battle ready status." The figure replied as Hojo crossed his arms.

"I only hope I'm around to see it." Hojo said as he looked out towards the war torn city.

"Maleficent…" the visage said, "…do you still have the Materia?"

"Yes my lord." She said as she held out an octagonal black box to the visage as Sanzun black portaled in.

"Excellent…" The figure said, as he took the box and turned to Sanzun.

"It would seem one of the vials shattered at some point...the third sample is useless." Sanzun reported.

"Then you will have to re-acquire them…" the figure said as Sanzun nodded.

"Actually my lord…I know which one to get, so going after the other two will be meaningless." Sanzun replied

"I don't care how you get it…just get it." The figure growled as Sanzun cowered.

"Here…make sure this gets to Sephiroth." The figure said as he handed Sanzun the box.

"It will be done my lord." Sanzun said with a nod as he portaled away again.

"It better be." The figure said as he turned towards the city.

* * *

**End Chapter 32.**

What will become of Midgar, and what is this mysterious figure plotting with those blood samples?

The first will be answered in the next chapter…the second one I plead the fifth on.

For those of you who are scratching your head about who the heck the "Keepers of Honor" are…the Keepers of Honor is the Official Angeal Hewley fan club within the FFVII universe.


	33. Meteor & Minerva

On board the Fahrenheit and in the city, our heroes (Having been given mega elixirs, courtesy of the BNL medical ward on Lazard's orders), were helping to coordinate the evacuations.

While near the top of the BNL building, Sephiroth landed and turned to overlook the ruined city as Sanzun portaled in.

"The master is pleased with your work…" Sanzun said as he approached the dark warrior, "…now it is time to end this world."

Sanzun opened the box and held it out towards the dark warrior revealing a black sphere that looked like there were swirling dark clouds moving within it.

"This will be fun." Sephiroth said as he pocketed the Materia and Sanzun portaled away.

"SEPHIROTH!!" Cloud yelled as he landed nearby and then lunged at the warrior who leapt out of the way and back down towards the city below. Cloud jumped down after him less than a second later.

Down at the sector seven entrance to the BNL building, Zack and Vincent ran out the door just as Yuna emerged from another nearby door.

"Yuna what are you doing here?" Zack asked as Yuna turned to the boy.

"I'm helping out…" she replied as she waved her summoner wand and in the clouds above, just like they had in Paris, the Bahamut Aeon descended from the skies and started sniffing out Sephiroth.

"Whoa!" Zack said as Vincent walked past.

"Uh Vincent…what are you doing?" Zack asked.

"The city is in chaos…I may as well unleash the beast within me." Vincent said as a swirling dark red cloud of magic emerged around him and as it cleared Vincent had been replaced by the dark harbinger of doom itself…Chaos.

"Whoa…I have got to find out what has happened lately with you guys." Zack said as Chaos flew off in search of Sephiroth.

Zack in the meantime ran out towards one of the command posts, while dodging civilians and the assisting SOLDIERs. Finally Zack came to three third class SOLDIERs with silver hair.

"Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, you three are with me!" Zack ordered as the three teenagers turned with arched eyebrows.

"Zack?! You're a first?!" Loz asked confused.

"Yeah, Director Lazard just informed all SOLDIERs that Zack's a first now." Kadaj replied.

"Then lead the way sir." Yazoo said as Zack ran towards a large intersection with the three SOLDIERs in tow.

Zack then heard the sounds of gunfire and turned to see Chaos firing off rounds at something on the rooftops.

"Swords!" Zack ordered as he and the other three drew their weapons. Seconds later the silver haired warrior leapt off the rooftop to the ground as Chaos landed in the street putting Sephiroth between him and the four SOLDIERs in the intersection.

"There's nowhere to run Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled as he rolled up on a double wheeled motorcycle near Zack and the other three SOLDIERs.

"I'm offended…" Sephiroth replied as Bahamut hovered over head just itching to unleash a mega-flare on the silver haired man.

"You send children to fight me?" Sephiroth said as he turned towards Cloud and lunged forward only to receive a shot to the back from Chaos.

"Stay down." Chaos ordered as he approached the injured monster. But as he approached, Sephiroth vanished in a small blink of black light and reappeared on top of Bahamut and grabbed a hold of part of the Aeon's neck. Bahamut struggled to throw the SOLDIER off but to no avail as a bright purple flash of light burst forth from the beast's eyes as it vanished.

Yuna in the meantime realized to her horror, that she had lost control of the beast.

"Oh no…" she whispered to herself, "…what have I done?"

Bahamut then stopped struggling and turned its attention to Chaos, and unleashed a flare on him, plowing him into the ground and into the slums below.

"Oh boy." Kadaj said as Zack and Cloud leapt into the air towards the gigantic monster and Sephiroth landed before the three.

"We surrender!!" Kadaj yelled instantly as he and the other two SOLDIERS dropped their weapons and then dropped to their knees before the powerful warrior.

"Hmm…I may have use for you three." Sephiroth said with a wicked smile.

Suddenly Chaos burst out from the roof of a house as he returned to the surface. Zack and Cloud were having no luck against the Aeon as Chaos grabbed a hold of the beast's tail. The two jumped off as Chaos hurled the Aeon towards the BNL building where it crashed into the wall and fell to the ground as Chaos flew after it.

"Yuna, can't you control that thing?!" Chaos asked as he landed nearby.

"I can't anymore…Sephiroth has stripped control away from me." Yuna replied as she struggled to retake control but to no avail.

"Looks like Spira is about to lose one of its Aeons then." Chaos replied as Yuna mournfully nodded.

As the beast started to climb up, Chaos shot it in the chest causing it to roar in pain long enough for Chaos to shoot it in the roof of its mouth, killing it. Yuna lowered her head in mourning as the beast lay dead on the ground.

Then it started to vanish in a glowing beam of light as Yuna looked up to see…

"Yunalesca?!" she said as the unsent woman hovered over the fading body of the Aeon.

"_Bahamut was lost when Sephiroth took control…killing it was possibly the most merciful solution Yuna, daughter of Braska."_ Yunalesca said as Yuna and Chaos looked on in awe.

"_Fear not his death for Bahamut will be reborn on Spira…he will live once more."_ Yunalesca said as she vanished along with Bahamut in a beam of light.

Meanwhile, after Cloud and Zack landed from jumping off Bahamut, Sephiroth turned partially towards them, then back to the three surrendering SOLDIERS.

"You want to live?" He asked as they nodded fearfully, "…then destroy them."

Without hesitation the three picked up their weapons and charged at the two. The two both leapt into the air over them as Cloud started running after Sephiroth again.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Cloud yelled as Sephiroth took off again towards the BNL building.

"What are you guys thinking?!" Zack yelled to the three as he turned to them.

"Sorry Zack…but we don't take orders from you any**more**!!" Kadaj yelled as he lunged forward only to be blocked by Zack and thrown aside. Yazoo charged but missed but got hit in the back of the head with Zack's sword grip and was knocked unconscious. Loz also charged forward as Zack swung his blade as hard as he could and shattered Loz's sword into pieces as it hit.

Zack then back handed the teen with his fist in the back of the head, also knocking him unconscious.

"You're gonna need a new weapon Loz." Zack said as he raised his sword, with his gaze still on the unconscious Loz, just as Kadaj crashed his double bladed katana sword into it. Zack looked at the teenager with a look as if saying "Is that the best you can do?" and punched the silver haired teen in the face with his free hand, also rendering him unconscious.

"I guess I don't know my own strength." Zack said as he ran off.

Meanwhile atop the BNL building Cloud and now Genesis were fighting Sephiroth up the building until they finally reached the very top of the building.

"Have you had enough yet Sephiroth?" Cloud asked as the warrior smirked and dug in his pocket.

"Yes actually…so now it's time to bring down the curtain…" Sephiroth replied as he pulled out the Black Materia and held it into the air.

Suddenly the materia sphere started to glow a bright purple and far above the world a massive glowing red sphere of rock appeared and slowly started moving towards the world…Meteor had been summoned.

"It's been fun." Sephiroth said as he vanished in a bright blue beam of light. Genesis ran at the last moment into the beam and they both vanished. Cloud in the meantime looked up and saw the destructive force hurdling towards the world.

Cloud quickly whipped out his cell phone and selected a call option labeled _"Everyone."_

"This is Cloud…the city is no longer safe on the surface nor the slums…we have to evacuate the world!!" he yelled into the phone as every receiving SOLDIER looked up and saw the massive rock.

Meanwhile on the Fahrenheit, our heroes paled at the sight.

"Any ideas?!" Cid asked quickly as everyone shook their heads. Suddenly a flash of blue light atop the BNL tower caught their eye.

"Well it's about time!" Aqua said as atop the tower stood the mighty wizard himself…Yen Sid.

Yen Sid's hat glowed a bright blue, as in orbit the Axiom dropped out of hyperspace. It was out of Meteor's range but it had a different purpose. In an instant everyone in the city, the slums, and the tower were teleported onto either the Axiom or one of the other space born gummy ships, save Zack, Cloud, our heroes, and Yen Sid himself. Yen Sid then appeared on board the Fahrenheit and collapsed in exhaustion.

"What do we do now?" Terra asked as Aerith approached and pulled something from her hair.

"We get this to Zack." She said as Cid nodded and the Fahrenheit flew around towards the top of the tower.

"Well Cloud." Zack said as he arrived on the top of the tower as they watched Meteor descend.

"It's all my fault." Cloud said as he dropped to his knees.

"No it's not Cloud…" Zack said as he grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

"It is not your fault…it's the fault of that maniac Professor Hojo." Zack said as Chaos flew onto the roof with Yuna in his arms.

"Zack's right Cloud." Vincent said as the Chaos form vanished and put Yuna down, "Its Hojo's fault this happened…not yours."

"But I was captured…and used to create that monster." Cloud said as Vincent grabbed him by the throat with his golden talon.

"Don't talk to me about becoming a monster Cloud." Vincent said angrily as Cloud realized his meaning.

"Then how do I stop this?" Cloud asked.

"There's no way you can stop it…but there is a way you can stop the monster that caused it." Vincent said as he let go.

"How?" Cloud replied.

"Find your light…and conquer the darkness within you." Vincent replied.

"I'm beyond redemption." Cloud said as he turned and walked away.

"Then let me help you find your light…as I search for mine." Vincent said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

Cloud looked up at him and finally gave a nod as the two black portaled onto the Axiom.

"Ok…now that one crisis is over…" Zack said as he turned back to watch meteor.

"…what do we do about the other one?" He whimpered as the Fahrenheit appeared with Terra and Aerith on the roof of it.

"ZACK!!" Terra yelled as he held a small round object wrapped in Aerith's pink ribbon.

"CATCH!!" he yelled as he started spinning the ribbon around like a slingshot and threw it to the boy who caught it and quickly unwrapped the ribbon revealing a glowing white materia. He quickly stuffed the ribbon in his pocket and turned towards the gummy ship.

"What do I do with it?!" Zack yelled but the loud rumbling noise from Meteor over head made it where the others couldn't hear.

"WHAT?!" Terra yelled back as Yuna leapt aboard the Gummy ship.

"WHAT…DO I…" Zack yelled as he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to see Angeal standing next to him in a glowing light with a smile on his face.

"_We'll use it together…" _Angeal said as Zack held it in his right hand with a smile.

The two brought their hands together, with the Materia between Zack and Angeal's hands as it suddenly started to glow in a bright radiant white light. Suddenly, from all of the Mako reactors around the city's edge pure Lifestream started flowing out from the top of the reactors and then out from the ground outside the city.

From space the view was amazing as all across the world the Lifestream burst forward and culminated over the city and then lunged forward with Minerva at it the front as it plowed into the massive rock shattering it into millions of pieces…but the disaster wasn't completely stopped.

On the surface massive chunks of rock crashed into the city surface, even knocking down a few of the surface plates…sector seven included. Zack scrambled and jumped aboard the Fahrenheit just as Mickey teleported the entire ship into orbit.

As soon as the rocks stopped falling, the Lifestream dispersed and returned to the world. Zack then fell on his back with a look of satisfied relief on his face.

* * *

**Later in the Midgar ruins…**

The people were scavenging the rubble for anything usable as Aerith, Terra, and Zack joined in scavenging the ruins of Sector Seven. Aerith and Zack had found that the abandoned church replied unscathed from the plate's collapse as Terra was searching for his old house.

Terra eventually found the ruins of his old house atop the fallen plate, as he entered he found it in relatively good shape. He then walked through grabbing empty suitcases and throwing various mementos into it. He paused as he came to a group shot of him, Aerith, Vera, a five year old Zack, and Rikka, all smiling. His thoughts then began to flow back to the happier times in the city before his journey had first begun.

Then he heard a female voice clear her throat. He turned to see Vera leaning against the doorway.

"Hey." She said as Terra showed her the photo.

"Remember when this was taken?" he asked as she nodded.

"That day when you got your promotion to Office Manager…and I took us all out to dinner to celebrate." She said with a smile.

He then picked up a picture of his sister.

"She would be proud of him you know?" she said referring to Zack as Terra nodded.

"He's already being touted as a hero by everyone…they're calling him the 'Herald of the Lifestream." Terra said with a chuckle.

"He's also got a fast growing fan club too." Vera added.

"Why did you leave Vera?" Terra asked after a moment.

"Because I couldn't bare the guilt I felt after nearly ruining your marriage…the Lifestream had other plans for me too…I had to start going to the other worlds in an effort to help heal the land…and to try and sort things out for myself." She replied as she lowered her head.

"Rikka's gone now…and Riku is-" Terra said as Vera interrupted, "In a safe place…I know Terra…I've known since the day we met that you were special…your son will have his own place in history...just like you, your friends, Zack, and his new friends Sora and Kairi."

"How do you know this? The Lifestream can't be telling you all of this." Terra said as Vera lowered her head and turned away.

"Because…" she said but stopped, "…I can't tell you…it is my secret to carry throughout all eternity…and my secret alone Terra."

"But Vera…I'm your friend…we've known each other for a long time." Terra argued as a glowing green tear rolled down her cheek.

"Wha…I don't recall that being a Cetra trait." Terra said as Vera sighed.

"You absolutely cannot…let anyone know this…but…my name isn't Vera…" she said as she went around a corner down the hall and turned to face him. She then started to glow with green energy as her ceremonial armor completed itself and a golden helmet appeared upon her head.

"_My name is not Vera…" _She said, _"…Vera is just my human name…I am Minerva…the goddess and the living spirit of the Lifestream."_

"You mean…this whole time…you were...really Minerva?" Terra asked as she nodded and turned away shamefully. Terra then walked over and turned her back towards him, as he lifted her head by the chin.

"I can live with my best friend in the worlds being… (Sigh) the life force of all worlds." Terra said with a smile as Vera shook her head.

"_You don't understand Terra…I allowed myself to fall in love with you…for a goddess to fall in love with a mortal of any kind…is a high crime." _Minerva explained.

"A crime to whom?" Terra asked outraged.

"_Kingdom Hearts…I am it's servant…for my crime I was forced to take something which you held dear…I took Rikka away from you Terra…after she gave birth to Riku…and can never bring her back…though there is a place where you may see her one last time." _Minerva explained as Terra looked visibly heartbroken.

"Where?" He asked.

"_There is a world known as the Olympus Coliseum…it is controlled by Zeus and the gods of Olympus…in this world there is a passage to the underworld where mortals can come and go as they please…Hades rules over the underworld and the souls that dwell there…It is a place where the Lifestream exists in a liquid form…but only Hades can allow any of the souls who dwell there to manifest themselves…and he is quite stubborn."_ Minerva explained as Terra remained silent.

"_I know you probably cannot even fathom forgiveness right now…and if there was a way to atone for my crime I would…but there isn't, and I can't." _Minerva said as she started to turn away but Terra stopped her again.

"Do you really know so little about me Vera?" he asked, "Do you really think that forgiveness is beyond me right now? Do you really believe that I will stop caring for you? Do you really think that everything that has happened lately hasn't been possibly for the greater good?"

"You have my forgiveness Vera…and you still have my love…but on a more friendly level." Terra said as a tear ran down her cheek.

"_Thank you…Terra."_ She said as she vanished in a glowing bright light back into the Lifestream.

* * *

**End Chapter 33**

Now for some explanation…

For those of you wondering, the name Vera is an anagram of the last four letters of Minerva.

Also…

I have a friend who I let read over my material whenever he's present and he had a question for me regarding the chronology of the Reunion series in relation to when they take place in the Kingdom Hearts games…well here's the answer…

First there is Birth by Sleep.

Ten years later is Kingdom Hearts (1)

Then starting near the end of KH1 is 358/2 which runs concurrently with Chain of Memories and ends at the beginning of the first day of Kingdom Hearts 2.

Then the name sake of the Reunion series, Reunion, starts only one month after KH2 ends.

And eventually Reunion II will take place...though the length of time having passed since Reunion I haven't decided yet.

Hope that helps to explain things.


	34. Rest for the Weary

Midgar was deemed unsalvageable, and the people longed for a new home. Fortunately there was an empty world near Midgar without a single man made structure or living being upon it.

The world was called…Edge.

The Axiom and the fleet of surviving Midgar natives salvaged as much usable material as they could from Midgar's ruins and began using it to build the brand new city of edge. Within a week there was the makings of a small city they could call their own.

Buy-N-Large wasn't so lucky, with the loss of their headquarters, as well as the death of Shelby Forthright during Sephiroth's rampage, the people's refusal to allow a corporate conglomerate to govern over them again, and several other issues, BNL officially declared bankruptcy.

The Axiom was the last remnant of BNL the people had after deactivating and dismantling almost every robot they had. They did however leave Wall-e, M-O, and every robot on the Axiom alone.

Like Terra had mentioned, Zack was being touted as a hero for summoning the Lifestream with the White Materia. His fan club had reached, at last count, one hundred nine thousand three hundred eighty four members (109,384) and growing. They called themselves the "True and the Fair"…Rikku has yet to stop ragging Zack about the pun.

SOLDIER's ranks were horribly diminished, with practically all the first class SOLDIERs dead at Sephiroth's hands. Ven, Terra, Aqua, Aerith, and Cid had made it a point to request to Director Lazard that Paine be made a first class, a request which Zack agreed with, and Lazard subsequently granted. Now Paine has a growing fan club of her own, called the "Silver Elite" and their numbers were growing almost as fast. (A/N: I know that the Silver Elite is technically Sephiroth's fan club…but this is my story muahahahahah…but I digress.)

Zack had offered to make Cloud a first class but the latter declined…he was still wrapped up in guilt over Sephiroth's actions and instead resigned from SOLDIER. He was however making fast friends with Vincent who had agreed to stay behind and mentor him in how to resist the darkness within him.

The former leaders of AVALANCHE were somewhat distraught. They had worked so hard to cleanse the slums of the crime lords only to have Sephiroth and Meteor happen. Tifa however was taking it slightly better than most people and with the help of our heroes was slowly rebuilding her bar, The Seventh Heaven. Most of AVALANCHE along with the remnants of the BNL military and SOLDIER had come together to form the new Edge National Guard, or ENG.

The people were also receiving help from other worlds, such as Spira, Montressor, and Radiant Garden. Even Cid and Shera's homeworld of Rocket Town was chipping in.

Yuna was rather depressed that she had summoned one of her most powerful Aeons only to have it possessed by Sephiroth and the subsequent mercy killing. She was debating as to whether or not she would remain a summoner because of it.

Finally, two and a half weeks after Meteor, our heroes were preparing to leave to continue their quest to find Xehanort and Kingdom Hearts. They were planning on leaving early the next morning, so they were all at Tifa's to say their goodbyes.

"So you're staying here in Edge?" Terra said as Paine nodded.

"You're not surprised are you?" she asked back.

"Nah…they need you here...Zack and Lazard need you." Terra replied.

"Thanks…they say that SOLDIER is still going to continue on its own…and being one of the first class will come in handy." Paine said as Terra nodded.

"In that case, it's been an honor and a privilege Paine…" Terra said as they shook hands, "…Hope to see you again sometime."

"Same here." She replied as Terra headed back to where Zack, Rikku, and Ven were chattering back and forward in Al Bhed. He then noticed Yuna looking rather distant in one of the booths by the window and headed over towards her.

"Munny for your thoughts." Terra said as he sat down opposite her.

"Hmm…oh, hey Terra." She replied solemnly.

"Still wrapped up about that whole Bahamut thing huh?" Terra asked.

"Yeah…I just…feel like it's wrong…their purpose is fulfilled, Sin's dead so there's no reason for me to keep using them right?" Yuna asked as Terra shrugged.

"That depends…" he replied as she arched an eyebrow.

"On what?" she asked.

"On what the situation is…look it was my fault Lazard asked you to summon one of the Aeons…I sort of bragged about you to him during the Sephiroth situation and in turn he asked you to summon an Aeon…how were we to know Sephiroth could take control of it." Terra explained as Yuna shook her head.

"It's not that Terra…I've been feeling cheesy about using the Aeons for our own gain ever since we left Spira." She replied.

"Hey if it wasn't for Ifrit, we would never have repelled those Pirates on Treasure Planet and if not for Bahamut we would never have made it into the Cathedral alive in Paris." Terra argued.

"I know but…I just feel like…like when Bahamut was lost…I felt like a part of me was lost too…maybe I need to find a new way of defending myself and my friends…maybe I need a new weapon…nothing made of magic...maybe something more…Machina based." Yuna thought out loud as she spotted Vincent enter behind Cloud.

"Whatever you decide Yuna…we will support you one hundred percent." Terra said with a nod as Yuna smiled back and returned the nod.

"Thanks Terra." She said as Terra got up to speak with the ex-Turk and the ex-SOLDIER.

"Vincent…Cloud." Terra said as he sat down at the bar next to them.

"Terra." Vincent greeted with a nod.

"I hear you guys are somewhat footloose and fancy free." Terra said as Tifa approached Cloud.

"Yeah…So?" Cloud replied in an emo-like attitude.

"Cloud, are you still in the dumps?" Tifa asked impatiently.

"Wouldn't you be if you were in my shoes?" Cloud replied as Tifa put her hands on top of his.

"Look around you Cloud…you're surrounded by friends who care for and support you. Sure we may have gone through a hard time recently, but that doesn't mean we've stopped caring for you…Look at Zack, he was ready to give you a promotion to first class, and from what I understand there have been people lining up to give you jobs now that you're ex-SOLDIER." Tifa explained as Terra nodded.

"Tifa's right Cloud…hell if you wanted to come with us on our journey tomorrow you're more than welcome…Since Paine's staying here we have an extra bunk now." Terra said as Cloud looked down at Tifa's hands and quietly started to stroke her right hand with his thumb.

"If you hold on to the guilt that you carry…then Sephiroth has won…you need to learn to let go Cloud…Let go of the past…and move on." Vincent said in his gruff voice as Tifa looked at Cloud hopefully.

"Can Vincent come too?" Cloud asked as Terra scratched his chin.

"I don't need a bunk anymore." Vincent said as Terra and Tifa both arched an eyebrow.

"I take it you don't need sleep anymore?" Terra asked.

"Nope…though if I do decide to sleep…I have a…different sort of sleeping arrangement." Vincent said as Cloud shook his head.

"He sleeps in a Coffin." Cloud said as Tifa and Terra paused wide eyed for a moment…were it not for everyone else in the room making noises you could have heard a pin drop.

"Oooookkkkaaaayyyyy." Terra said after a moment.

"Vinnie that's weird!" a voice said from behind Vincent as the gunman turned to see Aqua standing there with a huge grin on her face.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" he asked with narrow eyes and then turned away as he realized something.

"Actually thanks for reminding me…" he said as he turned to Terra, "…How's Lucrecia?"

"Last we heard she was awake in the Radiant Garden medical ward recovering from gunshot wounds to the chest and shoulder…interesting looking slugs too from what I hear." Terra said as Vincent smashed the glass in his claw.

"I sense I accidently struck a nerve." Terra said as he saw Vincent's expression.

"Hojo shot her…with my gun no less." Vincent growled.

"Oh yeah…the S.O.B. will pay for that one." Aqua said as Vincent turned back around to her with an arched eyebrow.

"What has you so eager?" Vincent asked.

"Easy…that rat (Naughty word) mutilated two friends of mine, injured the girlfriend of one, and helped destroy an entire world." Aqua replied as Vincent gave a slight smile.

"I never knew you cared." He said.

"You still don't know me very well." Aqua said as she walked over towards the Al Bhed trio, then paused as she heard the language she has grown to loath and turned to go sit with Barrett and Cid.

"That there is one cryptic woman." Terra said as the other three nodded.

A few minutes later Zack was sitting alone looking at something he was holding under the table as Terra walked over towards him.

"Hey there SOLDIER, this seat taken?" Terra asked as Zack snickered and motioned for him to sit down.

"What are you looking at there?" Terra asked as Zack revealed it to be a picture of him, Cloud, and Angeal standing over a trio of unconscious thugs.

"It was my first mission…Angeal and Cloud both said that I pulled it off like a Pro." Zack said as Terra could see the sadness in Zack's glowing eyes.

"You miss him don't you?" Terra asked as Zack looked at him.

"Actually…I was thinking more about Riku…and how much I wish he could have seen me in action." Zack said as he pulled out a photo of him and Riku giving each other bunny ears.

"You'll see each other again someday…and who knows…maybe he'll be just as strong as you are now…I know I haven't had the opportunity to tell you this but…I have never been more proud of you than I have been these past few weeks." Terra said as Zack smiled.

"You've done a lot of maturing lately…and that makes me even prouder." Terra said as he pulled out a picture of Zack's parents, "…and I'm sure they would be proud too."

"Wait a second…" Zack said as he thought for a moment, "…didn't dad have a brother too?"

"I think so…I can't remember but I know his name starts with an N." Terra said as Zack shrugged.

"Oh well…at least I may have one member of the Fair clan still alive." Zack said with a smirk.

"True." Terra said as he noticed Rikku and Ven snickering in a corner.

"What…exactly happened before…when we left you two alone in the tower to go find Cloud?" Terra asked.

"Easy…we snuck into the secret elevator to Sector eight and passed through to sector seven by jumping the wall." Zack said as Terra rolled his eyes.

"You really care for that girl don't you?" Terra asked as Zack blushed slightly.

"Well…we're friends…she said if this quest of yours ever ended that she would come and live here in Edge." Zack said as Terra smiled.

"Just don't get any ideas about a certain Al Bhed custom that Angeal mentioned." Terra said mischievously as Zack turned a deep crimson.

"Uncle Terra!!" he whined like most kids do when they get embarrassed by their parents.

"Just razzing ya kid." Terra said with a chuckle.

"You'll still hold onto that Microbe Obliterator for me right?" Zack asked after a moment.

"For sure." Terra replied.

* * *

**The next morning…**

Everyone piled onto the Fahrenheit as Zack, Paine, Tifa, Barrett, Lazard, Reeve, and in the distance Vera watched them leave.

"So where to?" Cid asked as Aerith emerged onto the bridge.

"Well according to the Sheppard's Journal, there are three worlds that we need to go to in order to find Kingdom Hearts." Aerith explained, "The first set of coordinates I recognize…they're the coordinates for Rocket Town."

Cid whirled around with a surprised look on his face.

"Do WHAT?!" he said as the cigar fell from his mouth.

"You heard the woman…Rocket Town." Ven said as Cid smiled like the others had never seen as he spun back around to the controls and set the coordinates.

"How in the hell did Rocket town become a Cetra world?" Cid asked after they had entered hyperspace.

"It says that the keepers of Kingdom Hearts secretly implanted the clues to where they hid it, in something on them." Aerith explained.

"Something on them? Can they be anymore vague?" Aqua asked sarcastically.

"Well that's all they put…the other two coordinates lead to two different worlds…one of them is privately owned and the other was declared too primitive by the Gummy ship travel commission." Aerith replied.

"Well I guess we'll find what we're looking for in Rocket Town." Yuna said as the others nodded.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Sanzun…" the dark visage said, "…we have received word that they're on the move again…and they're headed towards Rocket Town…I want you to go there and bring back what it is that they're after."

"It will be done my lord." Sanzun said as he bowed, as he turned to leave the visage stopped him.

"What has been done about reacquiring the third blood sample?" the figure asked.

"I cannot seem to locate the subject…it was gone from its usual home…and I cannot find it anywhere." Sanzun replied.

"Then check every world within the light…perhaps it was taken into hiding by those fools." The figure said as Sanzun nodded.

"I shall endeavor to do so…and have a nice little family reunion in the process." Sanzun said with a sinister smirk as he turned and left.

"Excellent." The visage said as it leaned back.

* * *

**Later…**

The Gummy ship started to land in a space port with numerous steampunk themed structures scattered around. The ground was mostly grass with several large patches of sand scattered about.

As Cid emerged from the boarding ramp he took a deep breath and sighed.

"Ahh…it's good to be home." He said as the others followed him out.

"Ok Cid…you know this place better than any of us…so lead the way." Ven said.

"Right…the first place we better go is my place…gotta pick up the mail and see if the missus is in ya know?" he said with a smirk as they followed him into town.

As they passed a steel saloon like building they didn't notice as a man in a black cowboy hat with a khaki colored long coat and pants, and a purple colored shirt watch them pass and start following after them.

After a while Vincent and Cloud's military training kicked in as they got the nagging feeling that someone was following them.

Finally as they entered a lifeless area they both spun around with their weapons drawn at the man who pulled out a shot gun and aimed it back at them.

"Drop it." Cloud ordered as the others took notice…especially Cid.

"Whoa, whoa easy now fellas…" Cid said as he hurried over towards the man who lowered the gun slightly as he noticed Cid.

"Cid that you?" the man asked.

"Irvine Kinneas, you old Chocobo wrangler you!" Cid said as the two hugged each other like men do when they haven't seen each other in a long while.

"How've ya been Irv?" Cid asked as the man lowered his weapon.

"Better than Midgar from what I've heard." Irvine replied as Cloud sighed.

"Let it go Cloud." Ven said as he put a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Yeah…I know…I was there." Cid said as Irvine arched an interested eyebrow.

"Were ya?" Irvine replied.

"Yeah…not pretty." Cid said as Aqua cleared her throat.

"So Cid, are you going to introduce us to your cute friend?" Aqua asked as she eyed the man with keen interest causing Ven face palm and then turn to Terra.

"Puff and ruffle time." He whispered as Terra snickered.

"Right…this here is Irvine Kinneas…the best shot in all of Rocket Town." Cid said as he went through introducing everyone but leaving Aqua for last as the blue haired woman walked up to the man.

"I'm Aqua." She said with a smile as Irvine kissed her hand like a gentleman.

"Well I wonder what heaven you descended from." Irvine said as Aqua blushed and Ven and Terra both started stifling their laughter.

"How about I tell you if you tell me which heaven you descended from first?" she asked as the two behind her were turning blue.

"I guess that means there's one less angel up there now huh?" Irvine replied. The other two were now a deeper shade of blue than Kimahri.

"Oh for sure." Aqua said dreamily as the two finally lost it and exploded in laughter.

"What's so funny?!" Aqua yelled at the two as they were literally in two shaking little balls on the ground as they laughed.

"Friends of yours?" Irvine asked with a smile.

"Unfortunately…yes." Aqua replied.

* * *

**End Chapter 34.**

I do not own Irvine…Irvine is from Final Fantasy VIII…the same game as Squall Lionheart a.k.a. Leon Squallblade and Selphie Tilmitt.

I don't own Rocket Town either…that one is FFVII.

And Steampunk is a type of design style that usually implies heavy use of steam power and large gear driven machines.


	35. The 1st clue & March of the Rocketeers

Our heroes headed for Cid's house with Irvine along with them unaware that an all too familiar foe was meeting with the local crime boss Eddie Valentine (No relation to Vincent Valentine).

"So you want us to track down this bunch of characters and take whatever they find here huh?" a slightly pudgy faced man in nineteen twenties gangster garb, complete with bowler hat, asked as he counted a thick envelope full of munny.

"That's right Mr. Valentine…but among them is a blue haired woman…I want you to spare her and bring her to me…same goes for a woman in a pink outfit…the rest you can put out of their misery." Sanzun said as the gangster thought carefully.

"Ok…you got a deal Mr. Sanzun." Eddie replied as the two shook hands.

"Excellent." Sanzun replied with a sinister grin.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"SHERA!! I'M HOME!!" Cid yelled as the woman in question appeared from around the corner to one of the rooms.

"Captain!" she said as she ran around the corner and threw her arms around him in a deep kiss.

"Captain?!" they all asked confused.

"She's more comfortable with calling him Captain." Irvine replied with a smirk as he secretly swiped a cigar from a cigar box on a table by the door…or so he thought.

"Irv if ya don't put that cigar back right now, ya won't have a pot to spit in when I get through with ya." Cid threatened without looking away from Shera as Irvine smirked and replaced the cigar.

"Come on in everyone…the more the merrier." Shera motioned as they all trouped into the living room and had a seat…sans Kimahri who just stood…or hunched due to his height.

"So what brings ya'll here?" Shera asked as she sat down.

"We're looking for some sort of Cetra thing that will help us…uh." Ven started to explain but paused as he remembered Irvine was in the room and had arched an interested eyebrow when Ven mentioned the Cetra.

"Did I hear correctly…did you mention Cetra?" Irvine asked.

"Well…yes actually." Ven replied as Cid quickly realized the reason for Ven's reluctance to continue.

"Oh don't worry about Irvine here…he's probably one of the most trustworthy men in all of Rocket Town." Cid complemented.

"Not like that crook Eddie Valentine." Irvine said as everyone looked at Vincent with an arched eyebrow.

"Come again?" Aqua asked.

"Irv…the guy in red there is Vincent Valentine…I sincerely doubt there's a relation." Cid explained.

"Oh…well Eddie Valentine controls the criminal aspects of Rocket Town…he runs the local mafia." Irvine explained as everyone understood and nodded.

"So what is it ya'll are looking for…maybe I can help ya'll out." Irvine asked as they turned to Aerith.

"We're not exactly sure…the clues we're going on are rather vague." Aerith explained as Irvine leaned forward with interest.

"Clues? You mean…you have the Journal?" Irvine asked as everyone arched a surprised eyebrow.

"How do you know about the journal?" Terra asked.

"How do I know about the journal?! Buddy everyone in the known universe knows about the Great War between the Cetra and the Calamities…and no one dares claim to be a Clammy around here without a death wish...even that crook Valentine hates the Clammys." Irvine replied.

"Wow…I never realized that so many people knew about the war." Yuna said in surprise.

"Yeah well…so what are these clues you have?" Irvine asked.

"The clue we're following at the moment, is regarding the keepers of Kingdom Hearts and where they hid one of the clues to Kingdom Heart's location." Aerith replied, "All it says is that it's hidden in something they had on them."

"Hmm…" Irvine thought as he scratched his chin, he even went as far as to remove his hat revealing his auburn hair in a pony tail.

"Dang Irv…have you ever gotten a hair cut?" Cid asked as he noticed the man's hair but Irvine ignored him.

"The best place to find ancient anything around these parts is in the Rocket Town museum of history." Irvine said as Aqua faked a yawn.

"Oh…how interesting…a museum." Aqua replied sarcastically.

"Ignore her…history was never her favorite subject." Ven said as Aqua stuck her tongue out at him.

"So I noticed." Irvine replied.

"Is this place open right now?" Mickey asked as Irvine donned his hat and nodded as he stood up.

"Let's go then." Terra said as Cid spoke up.

"You guys go ahead…I've got a few things in town I wanna deal with." Cid said.

"Mind if Cloud and I join you?" Vincent asked as Cid nodded.

"The more the Merrier." Cid replied.

"Can I come too?" Yuna asked.

"Sure." Cid replied as they headed for the door.

"I'll be heading to Edge tomorrow morning Captain so I'll be here packing." Shera said as Cid nodded and kissed her on the cheek as he walked out the door.

They split off into two groups; Ven, Terra, Aqua, Irvine, Mickey, Rikku, and Aerith headed for the Museum while Cid, Vincent, Cloud, Yuna, Kimahri, and Wall-e headed towards a general supply store.

The sun was just starting to set as Irvine and his group entered the museum, Aqua's Keyblade suddenly appeared in her hand.

"Whoa Aqua put that thing away." Ven said as Aqua tried to keep it under control.

"I'm trying to but it's gone crazy…it must sense that Cetra artifact around here somewhere." Aqua replied as a man dressed as a security guard approached.

"I'm sorry folks the museum is closing for today." The man said.

"Mack…these people need to get inside real quick…we're just looking for one thing in particular…we'll be in and out in a jiffy." Irvine said as the man sighed and nodded.

The group quickly moved inside as Aqua took lead as the Keyblade guided them through the museum towards a large coffin like chest on display.

"What's in the chest?" Rikku asked as Ven glanced at the plaque.

"It says that no one can even make the lid so much as budge...so its contents remain unknown." Ven replied as Aqua's Keyblade began to glow a light blue.

The light from the Keyblade illuminated a keyhole shaped engraving on the chest.

"Could it really be that simple?" Aqua asked with slight disbelief as she moved the Keyblade closer towards the keyhole and inserted it into the slot that formed. She turned it clockwise as the Keyblade and lid vanished in one spectacular swirl of light revealing a shining blue, purple, gold, and silver plated suit of armor.

"Wow…armor." Rikku said surprised.

"Not once in over five thousand years as anyone ever opened that chest." Irvine whispered as he removed his hat in awe.

Aqua reached forward to the armor as it suddenly started to glow with light. Suddenly in a flash of light the armor started magically disappearing from the chest and reappearing onto Aqua and taking a more feminine appearance than its previous masculine appearance. Finally it was complete as Aqua looked herself over a strange thought came into her head.

"Whoa did we just have a conversation?" she asked in disbelief as she lifted the face slot on the helmet.

"I dunno…you tell us." Ven asked as Aerith realized the meaning of the clue.

"Oh wait…I get it now…the clue was something they had on them…it meant wearing on them…the armor is the clue!" Aerith exclaimed as Ven suddenly started searching all around on the armor much to Aqua's annoyance.

"No you imbecile she means the clue is in the armor not on the armor." She said as she smacked Ven on the top of the head. Ven then said…

"Apparently it also inspires a woman's monthly-""Don't you even go there!" Aqua growled as Ven smiled innocently and backed away.

"We probably better be going before that guard comes back." Terra said as the armor vanished and the chest resealed itself.

"Good idea…let's go." Irvine said as they headed for the door.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Cid and his group entered a store named "Rin's Travel Agency and General Supply Store."

Yuna instantly recognized the name…and the man behind the counter.

"Rin?! Is that you?!" she asked a blond haired man in Spiran clothing.

"Yuna?! What in the name of Machina are you doing here?" he asked perplexed.

"I'm traveling with some friends of mine…you remember Kimahri right?" she asked as the Ronso nodded to the blond haired man.

"Even so why are you here?" Rin asked.

"It's complicated…but you have heard the latest news from home haven't you?" she asked.

"Depends on the news…the news about the beginning of the Eternal Calm or the devastation of Midgar?" Rin asked.

"Actually I meant regular news." Yuna replied.

"Oh…well nothing much is happening except the Al Bhed are finally becoming accepted by the people of Spira…good thing too...oh and if you see Wakka…be sure to tell him that the Besaid Aurochs for the first time ever won the national championships." Rin replied as Yuna smiled with a soft chuckle.

"I'll be sure to have Lulu let him know." She said as Rin went wide eyed.

"Lu's alive?!" he asked.

"Yeah…she's been stranded for years on an unauthorized world...but she's made it her home, the people know her there and she even has a family now…a husband and a cute little spiky haired boy." Yuna explained.

"She still owes me for that gummy ship ya know." Rin said as he then paused in thought, "But I'll let it slide…since she is a friend of yours after all…on that note allow me to express my gratitude for your destroying Sin by giving you and all your friends a seventy five percent discount."

"Rin I can't accept that, it's too much." Yuna said humbly as Rin shook his head.

"Nonsense. You have done me a great service…ever since Sin's death my business has exploded…I'm having to build new shops all around Spira…and even in worlds abroad." Rin explained, "The new Edge government has even asked me to build one in Edge to assist in gaining supplies and physical aid for the work there."

"Well…I guess I could live with a seventy five percent discount." Yuna said as Cid walked up next to her.

"I know I can." Cid said as he put a few random items on the counter.

Kimahri then knelt down to Wall-e who handed the large Ronso something.

"Wall-e wants' this." Kimahri said as Yuna arched an eyebrow.

"A copy of _Hello Dolly_?" Yuna asked as Wall-e started "dancing" and humming some song. (Put on your Sunday Clothes)

"Aww let the guy have it…after all he is entitled for something…after all the help he's been lately." Cid said as he put the holo-disk on the counter.

"Whoa, an honest to Pete Machina!" Rin said as he spotted Wall-e on the ground, "You know Eddie Valentine is willing to pay a pretty penny for a functioning Machina."

"Well he ain't getting this one…" Cid said as something occurred to him, "…speaking of Valentine-"

"What?" Vincent asked from nearby as if Cid had called him.

"Huh? Oh, no not you Vince…" Cid replied as he turned back to Rin, "…his last name is Valentine…no relation…but seriously what news do you have regarding Eddie's recent activity?"

"Well…" Rin said as Yuna started admiring a pair of twin hand guns within a glass case, "…word on the street is that he's searching for these strangers looking for an ancestral artifact."

"Ancestral?! That's what the Al Bhed call the Cetra." Yuna said as she heard Rin's explanation, "…they're looking for US!"

"You?! You're looking for Ancestral artifacts?!" Rin asked in surprise.

"Well our friends are…they helped us out in defeating Sin so Rikku, Kimahri, and I have been helping them out…Lulu's husband is one of them." Yuna replied.

"Any more recent news?" Cid asked eagerly.

"I'm afraid so…One of Valentine's men spotted them going into the museum a while ago and Eddie gave them the order to move out…I hear he's being paid by some guy named…doh what's his name…it starts with an S." Rin said as he scratched his head and the others went wide eyed.

"Sephiroth?!" Cloud asked eagerly as Rin shook his head.

"Naw it has to be Sanzun." Cid replied as Rin snapped his fingers.

"That's it Sanzun!" Rin replied as Yuna paled.

"We have to help them!" she said as Cid shook his head.

"Naw by the time we get there it may be too late…unless…" Cid said as he thought.

"Unless what?!" Cloud asked.

"Rin I need your help…go around town to all the saloons and places where the good old boys hang out and yell out the phrase, 'Posse in the square!' as loud as you can…then grab a gun and get there yourself." Cid ordered as Rin nodded eagerly.

"Uh Rin you mind if I make a quick purchase first?!" Yuna asked as Rin gave a semi-disbelieving cringe.

"What now?!" Cid asked.

"Well you said grab a gun...why not make it two?" Yuna said as she pointed at the twin hand guns.

"Oh the Twin Bees, nice choice…with your magical abilities you should never run out of ammo." Rin said as he removed the guns from the case and tossed in two free holsters.

"I never thought of you as the gunner type." Cloud said surprised.

"I've been thinking of abandoning the summoner ways…especially after that whole Bahamut incident." Yuna replied.

"I can show you how to use them." Vincent said as Yuna nodded with a smile.

"Right let's go!" Cid said as Wall-e started chirping and pointed at his laser.

"Don't worry little fella, I'll be sure to tweak that laser of yours." Cid said as they ran out the door.

Ten minutes later in the square, Cid stood on the second floor balcony of one of the buildings addressing a crowd of Rocket Town natives each brandishing a gun of some sort. Some of them were even brandishing lit torches.

"Friends, neighbors, fellow Rocketeers! There walks on this very world of ours…a CLAMMY!!" Cid shouted as the crowd started chattering amongst themselves.

"He's fooled Eddie Valentine to help him out and is holding a living Cetra along with four wielders of the Keyblade hostage at the Museum!" Cid yelled as the crowd fell silent.

"What proof do you have?!" a man yelled as suddenly a blue glow appeared Cid and in a flash of light stood the mighty wizard Yen Sid himself.

"Look it's Yen Sid!" another man yelled as the entire crowd bowed before the wizard.

"Captain Highwind speaks the truth! The Keyblade wielders and the Cetra are in danger…move quickly there is little time to lose!!" Yen Sid said as the crowd started chattering again.

"Who knows what that beast will do!!" Cid yelled as the crowd yelled in agreement as Cloud yelled out…

"The beast will make off with your children!" Cloud yelled as the crowd gasped, "He'll come after them in the night!"

"We're not safe while the Calamity breaths, I say we kill the beast!" Cloud continued as Yuna, Wall-e and Kimahri looked at him surprised as a man in the crowd started yelling.

"_We're not safe until he's dead"_

Then another man yelled…

"_He'll come stalking us at night"_

Then a woman yelled…

"_Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous leader's appetite"_

Then another man yelled out as Cid shrugged…

"_He'll wreak havoc on our Town if we let him wander free"_

Cid then joined in…

"_So it's time to take some action, boys  
It's time to follow me"_

Cid yelled as the crowd shouted in agreement and he lifted his spear in the air.

_"Through the mist, through the woods  
Through the darkness and the shadows  
It's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride"_

Cid sang as the crowd prepped their weapons and lit their torches.  
_  
"Say a prayer, then we're there  
At the entrance to a dark world  
And there's something truly terrible inside"_

Cid continued as he poll vaulted off the balcony to the street below with Cloud right behind him.  
_  
"It's a beast! He's got fangs  
Razor sharp ones!  
Massive swords, killer spells for the beast  
Hear him roar! See him foam!  
But we're not coming home 'til he's dead—"_

Cid shouted as the crowd cheered.

"_Good and dead!"_

He shouted with another cheer from the crowd

"Kill the Beast!".

"Cid, are you mad this is Aqua's husband we're talking about!" Yuna pleaded as Cid turned to her.

"And this is my homeworld and I'm not letting anything happen to it!" Cid replied.

"I know it's tough to conceive but he's not in his right mind…the guy has two personalities for crying out loud!!" Yuna argued but her arguments fell on deaf ears.

"Well then we'll take them both out!" Cid replied, "We'll rid the universe of this beast! WHO'S WITH ME!!"

Then the crowd cheered in agreement and sang…

"_Light your torch! Mount your horse!"_

Then Cid joined in…

_"Screw your courage to the sticking place!"  
_  
The crowd replied as Cid started leading them towards the museum…

_"We're counting on Cid to lead the way!  
Through a mist, through a wood  
Where within an evil world  
Something's lurking that you don't see ev'ry day!"  
It's a beast! One as dark as a mountain  
We won't rest 'til he's good and deceased  
Sally forth! Tally ho!  
Grab your sword! Grab your bow!  
Praise the Lord and here we go!"_

_"We don't like  
What we don't understand  
In fact it scares us  
And this monster is mysterious at least  
Bring your guns!  
Bring your knives!  
Save your children and your wives  
We'll save our Town and our lives  
We'll kill the Beast!"_

They sang as the museum came within sight in the distance and Cid turned to them.

"Hold fire till I give the word, but remember the Clammy's for the Knights!!"

"_Hearts ablaze  
Banners high  
We go marching into battle  
Unafraid although the danger just increased  
Raise the flag!  
Sing the song!  
Here we come, we're fifty strong  
And fifty Rocket men can't be wrong  
Let's kill the Beast!"_

They sang as they drew closer…ready for the battle to come.

* * *

**End Chapter 35.**

I love the mob song from Beauty and the Beast…which the song above is a slight modification of…I thought it fit the mood.

I don't own Rin either.

To explain one thing…my buddy was confused with the crowd's behavior and eagerness to fight, so here's the reason why.

Like Irvine said everyone hates the Calamities. They're like the Nazis of the universe, even though their next to extinct and the people of Rocket Town will willingly give their lives to insure they remain extinct, as would anyone who knows of them and their past.

Cid referred to Sanzun as a Calamity because Sanzun and his allies used Jenova's head to create Sephiroth and because it would light the people's patriotism against the Calamities…oh and if you haven't figured it out by now the term "Clammys" is a derogative term for the Calamities.

Disclamer: I mean't no offence to anyone of German or Jewish decent with the Nazi referrence.


	36. Shootout at the Rocket Town Corral

As our heroes emerged from the museum they walked across the grass towards the town when suddenly Rikku vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Whoa RIKKU!" Ven yelled as they noticed and started looking all around them as suddenly a swarm of men in nineteen thirties gangster attire, complete with Tommy guns, appeared and surrounded them.

Suddenly an all too familiar and sinister cackle was heard as Sanzun appeared with Rikku in his grasp at knife point with his Keyblade.

"Hello dear…did you miss me?" he asked Aqua sinisterly through his helmet.

"Mune…let her go!" Aqua ordered as the pudgy gang leader approached.

"Eddie Valentine you slime…I knew you were low…I just didn't think you'd sink this low." Irvine said with a growl as the gang members kept their aim on the cowboy.

"Mr. Kinneas…can't say that I'm surprised you're here…but as long as I get paid…I'm happy." Eddie replied.

"What do you want Sanzun?" Terra asked.

"Simple…" Sanzun replied as he tightened his grip on Rikku, "…I want the clue you found in there…I know you have it…I can feel it."

"The guard…that's how you knew where to find us." Aerith said as she saw the guard come out with his gun.

"Aren't you a smart one Aerith Gainsborough…I also want you and Aqua along with the clue." Sanzun replied with a sneer.

"You can't read their writing can you?" Aqua asked as Sanzun sighed in annoyance, proving that she was right, "Well guess what…'dear,' I can read it now thanks to that 'clue' so you won't need her…but you're getting none of it."

"Is that right…I think you'll change your tune when you find out who I have hidden away with me." Sanzun replied as he held up a small lock of red hair and the heroes, sans Irvine, went wide eyed.

"Kairi." Aqua said breathlessly as Sanzun nodded with a sinister smile.

"So here's the deal…you give me the clue and Aqua…and I'll let your friend here go...straight trade so you know it's an honorable agreement." Sanzun said as Aqua turned to Ven who shook his head knowingly.

"No, no way." Ven said to her.

"Ven please…he has Kairi…I have to go with him." Aqua replied.

"But what if he's bluffing? What if he's just going to take you and have you tortured for information?" Ven asked.

"I'd rather take that chance than risk Kairi's life…" Aqua replied as she then whispered in his ear, "…it's also the only chance I have to try and put Mune back in control."

Ven finally sighed and nodded.

"Ok Mune…you have a deal." He said reluctantly.

"Then come on kid, hand her over so we can all go home." Eddie said as Aerith glared at him.

"What's it like working for a Calamity, Eddie? Huh?" she asked as Eddie looked at Sanzun with an arched eyebrow, "Does he pay you in Munny or Gil?"

"What's she talkin' about?" Eddie asked.

"Oh yeah just ask our friend Cloud Strife or Vincent Valentine…I doubt there's a relation, but he's got Black Materia, Jenova's head, the works." Ven interrupted as Eddie turned back suspiciously to Sanzun who started laughing as if Ven and Aerith were bluffing.

"They've been hanging around the moonshine too long." Sanzun laughed as Rikku spoke up.

"Ask him where he got the munny; ask him what the clues are for." Rikku said as Eddie was getting even more dubious as to his "client's" allegiances.

"Talk fast Sanzun." Eddie said to the man whose helmet turned transparent.

"You tell him Eddie." Irvine said as Eddie yelled for him to "Shut up!" without looking.

"Aw come on Eddie…I'm paying you well…does it matter who I work for?" Sanzun asked as Eddie narrowed his eyes.

"It matters to me." He replied, "I may not make an honest buck…but I'm a hundred percent loyal to the Cetra…and I don't work for no two bit Clammy."

Eddie then drew a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at Sanzun's side.

"Let her go." He ordered softly, as the rest of the gangsters turned their guns towards Sanzun much to our heroes' surprise.

Sanzun glared at Eddie emotionless before cracking a smile and letting out a hearty laugh before yelling…

"CUMTEANC YNECA, TECYNS DRAS HUF!!" (SOLDIERS ARISE, DISARM THEM NOW!!)

Suddenly armed soldiers in black armored suits swarmed out of the bushes and surrounded the Gangsters and heroes.

"It's your move Eddie." Sanzun said as Eddie gave a huff and dropped his gun along with the rest of his men. Aerith then realized what the Soldiers really where.

"By Minerva…They're some of the BNL soldiers from Midgar…they've been brainwashed and infused with Calamity cells…they're practically modern day Calamities now." Aerith said in sad distress as Sanzun released Rikku and motioned for Aqua to come which she reluctantly did.

"Difference between Calamity and Jenova cells?" Ven asked.

"Well they're extra vulnerable to light magic now." She replied as Sanzun's helmet turned black again.

"Silence." He ordered as a loud low hum was heard off in the distance and a large black and red gummy ship flew in slowly over the museum as Sanzun smiled sinisterly at the sight.

"It's been a pleasure knowing you Ven…" Sanzun said as he turned back to the blond, "…oh and don't worry... all the little darlings at the castle are fine…However Lulu has been in better shape."

"Why you STINKING (Naughty Word)!!" Ven yelled outraged as Terra and Irvine restrained him.

Sanzun just smirked and handed Aqua off to three silver haired soldiers as he turned and headed back a bit before stopping and turning towards Eddie.

"Goodbye Eddie…" he said with a sinister smirk as Eddie stood there with anger written all over his face and the Soldiers cocked their rifles.

"…and happy…'Valentine's' Day." Sanzun taunted with a snicker.

Suddenly two large beams of light appeared from the street revealing a massive mob of gun toting Rocket Town natives.

"YOU'RE TIME IS UP CLAMMY!!" Cid yelled from a bullhorn.

"It's the Cavalry!" one of the gangsters yelled.

"Shoot them!" Sanzun ordered as Ven lunged at Sanzun with his Keyblade.

"Lousy CLAMMYS!!" Eddie yelled as he quickly grabbed a discarded Tommy gun and turned to his men as they just as quickly retrieved their weapons.

"LET EM HAVE IT!!" Eddie yelled as he and the gangsters started firing at the Calamity troops and the mob behind them charged forward with their guns blazing.

It quickly became a two to one shootout with the Natives and gangsters against the Calamities. Ven and Terra were also going at it against Sanzun as Aqua went without resistance towards a ladder that led to the roof of the museum and then to the Gummy ship.

"Give it up already Ven!" Sanzun growled between blows.

"You dared harm my wife…I'll see that you pay for that…on that I swear it!" Ven growled.

"She still lives…I don't know why you're so upset." Sanzun replied mockingly as Terra yelled to Ven…

"DON'T LET HIM GET TO YOU!! HE'S TRYING TO PLAY WITH YOUR MIND!!"

Ven knew he was right but still had to defend himself.

Down below Irvine, Yuna, Vincent, and Wall-e were firing their weapons at the Calamities (Wall-e now with a modified laser), as Kimahri, Cloud, Aerith, Rikku, Cid, and Mickey fought in the melee aspect as Cloud then noticed the three soldiers taking Aqua to the Gummy ship seemed familiar.

He looked closer and realized that he had indeed seen them before…in Midgar before and after Sephiroth had taken control of Bahamut…it was Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz.

"Why those stinking traitors!" Cloud growled as he ran towards the museum roof with buster sword in hand and in one great leap, jumped to the roof to confront the three traitorous SOLDIERS.

"You three!" he yelled as the three turned to him.

"Oh look…its big brother." Yazoo said as he drew a small gunblade.

"Why yes…it is." Kadaj said with a smirk as he drew his duel bladed katana.

"Don't cry with joy just yet Kadaj…we still have to kill him first." Loz said as he prepped his new pile bunker. (A/N: anyone have clue at all WTH a pile bunker is? Cause I sure don't)

"Enough fooling around…where's Sephiroth?" Cloud growled as Aqua sighed and climbed the rope ladder to the gummy ship.

"I wish we knew…but we don't…sorry **brother!**" Kadaj yelled as he charged. But Cloud quickly side stepped and tripped the charging SOLDIER as he tumbled off the roof and landed unconscious.

"You Meany!" Loz yelled in tearful anger as a spark flew from the pile bunker and he charged only to get tripped up by the non-bladed end of Cloud's buster sword and fell unconscious on the ground next to Kadaj.

"You will pay for that!" Yazoo yelled as Cloud quickly blocked the shot from the gunblade and kicked the gunman in the groin. As the temporary falsetto fell to his knees in agony, Cloud shrugged, grabbed him by the back of the collar and the belt around his back and hurled him off the roof where he too fell unconscious next to his brothers.

Cloud then noticed a dead Calamity sniper nearby and quickly donned his clothing before climbing the rope ladder where Aqua was the only one who knew who he really was yet remained silent.

Sanzun in the meantime was still dukeing it out with Terra against his former friend and just as the two had him trapped between them he vanished in a puff of black smoke and reappeared onboard the gummy ship.

"Get us out of here." He said to an all too familiar black and white robotic steering wheel with red optic center.

"_Aye Aye Captain." _AUTO replied in his autonomous voice as Sanzun reached for a radio microphone.

"_A valiant effort if I do say so myself…but utterly futile…farewell my friends…I know we'll meet again soon." _Sanzun said to the mob below as the gummy ship roared off.

"Now my dear…" Sanzun said as he entered Aqua's cell, completely oblivious to Cloud's presence, "…we are together again."

He then lifted a glass of Champaign as if in a toast and drank it as Aqua looked out the window at the world behind her.

* * *

**Later…**

"Hey kid." Eddie said as he approached a somber Ven.

"I know it's not going to bring her back…but I'm sorry for the pain I've caused…Minerva knows I'm the last person to believe, but if you ever need a quick army to fight those sons of (Naughty Word) …you give me a call…and I'll back you up one hundred percent." Eddie said as Ven sighed and nodded.

"Thank you Eddie…" Ven said as he shook the gangster's hand, "…it means more than you realize to know that even the criminals of the universe are on our side."

"You always know an enemy is an enemy when even the dishonest amongst us are willing to go fight them." Eddie replied with a nod as he turned, then paused as he dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out the envelope of munny that Sanzun had given him earlier.

"Hey kid…one more thing…I can't take this munny…it was given to me by a Calamity…and I'd feel like a traitor if I accepted it…you probably need it more than I do." Eddie said as Ven shook his head.

"Actually Eddie if there's anyone who needs it more…its Midgar's Refugees…do yourself the first of hopefully many good deeds…and donate the munny to them." Ven said as Eddie nodded.

"You have a good heart my friend…I only hope that when this is over…that you have the best damn time in the universe with your friends and family at your side." Eddie said as he walked away.

"Hey." Terra said as he approached, "How ya holding up?"

"Not well…I'm torn in two here Terra." Ven replied, "I don't know whether or not to check on Lulu first and then find Aqua or vice versa."

"I would go with Lu first." Terra suggested as he looked towards Vincent as he was clobbering the captive Loz in the face trying to get info regarding the whereabouts of where Sanzun was heading.

"They say that Cloud's missing too…chances are, he found a way to sneak onto the gummy ship without their noticing." Terra said as Ven looked at him hopefully.

"Maybe when the time is right, he'll be able to tell us where she is and/or bring her and Kairi to us." Ven replied with a sigh.

"We must always hope for the best." Yen Sid said as he approached.

"Master…we've been failing you…we get a clue to Kingdom Heart's location and then it's snatched away from us." Ven apologized to the wizard who shook his head.

"No Ven…you have made more progress in finding Kingdom Hearts than Xehanort or Munesanzun put together." Yen Sid said as the two Keyblade wielders went wide eyed.

"What did you just say?!" Terra asked as Yen Sid arched an eyebrow.

"I said that you have made mo-""No, no, no the names you mentioned…who were they?" Ven asked.

"You mean Xehanort and Munesanzun?" he asked as Ven and Terra looked at each other with shocked expressions.

"Just who exactly is Munesanzun?" Terra asked.

"Why Xehanort's apprentice of course." Yen Sid replied as the two turned white as a sheet.

"What's the matter?" the wizard asked confused.

"Uh boy…uh master could you describe Munesanzun to us?" Ven asked.

"Well let me see now…uh tall, dark hair, go-tee…" "And a little knick on the back of his neck shaped like the letter Z?" Ven asked as Yen Sid arched an eyebrow.

"You've seen him?" he asked.

"Heck yeah he just flew out of here with Aqua as his hostage!" Ven replied as Yen Sid looked like a deer in the headlights.

"By Minerva…I am a fool for not seeing this…I should have known when he said he was going off to try and locate Kingdom Hearts that he was really searching for it in the hopes of finding everlasting darkness." Yen Sid said in shock.

"Wait I thought that Kingdom Hearts is everlasting light?" Terra asked.

"Not even I know the answer to that…but judging by the fact that she was kidnapped tells me that they cannot find the required clues to its whereabouts." Yen Sid replied.

"So Sanzun's behind this?" Terra said as Yen Sid shook his head.

"No…I'm afraid that he is merely the darkness's equivalent to a queen piece in a game of chess in this deadly game of light against darkness." Yen Sid said with a sigh.

"So if Sanzun's not behind this…and we definitely know that Hojo's not behind it…that leaves only one person…" Ven said as a sense of dread swept over them.

"No…you don't mean…" Terra said as Yen Sid nodded sadly.

"Yes…my former apprentice Xehanort is the mastermind behind these events." Yen Sid said as Mickey who had overheard the entire conversation approached.

"Then what do we do master? Xehanort is bound to have agents waiting for us at every turn...we can't give up now." Mickey said as Yen Sid's face turned serious.

"You must step up the pace…Xehanort still requires all the pieces of the puzzle in order to locate Kingdom Hearts…you must find the last two pieces of armor before he does." Yen Sid said as a faint rumble was heard in the air. Everyone turned to see the Fahrenheit hovering overhead.

"_Let's go boys and girls the trail's getting cold!!"_ Cid yelled through the speakers as the gummy ship turned and extended its boarding ramp.

Our heroes then started running for the gummy ship, but just before Terra started retracting the ramp…

"WAIT!!" Irvine yelled as he ran up the ramp.

"While I doubt that you need another gun in the group but that Clammy attacked my home…and I don't take kindly to that." Irvine said as Terra smiled.

"Welcome aboard Irvine…glad to have you with us." He said as the ramp started to close.

"Thanks and please…call me Irv." Irvine said as the Gummy ship roared into space.

* * *

Aqua opened her eyes and blinked at what she saw…it looked like she was in her house back on the islands…but was this for real, or just a dream.

She got out of the bed and found herself in her usual white tank top, gray jogging shorts, and socks. She put on her slippers and walked through to the kitchen…everything was exactly the way she remembered it.

As she entered the kitchen she was shocked to see a certain red haired four-year-old in her pajamas sitting and coloring at the kitchen table. She also had the lucky charm around her neck.

Aqua looked around in disbelief, as Kairi noticed her.

"Morning Mommy!" she shouted with a smile as Aqua smiled back at her.

"Morning sweetie." She replied nervously.

Then Kairi noticed something behind her mother.

"Morning Daddy!" she yelled with a smile as Aqua froze and slowly turned in shock to see…

"Good morning Kairi…dear…" Sanzun said with a look of false happiness as he then turned to Aqua with a sinister smile. He had red hair but Aqua could tell it was Sanzun in control by his yellow eyes.

"And isn't it nice to be one big happy family?" he asked with a sinister chuckle as Aqua glared at him with a mixture of anger and fear as she realized that she wasn't dreaming…she was literally in a living nightmare.

* * *

**End Chapter 36.**

I do not own Eddie Valentine…Eddie is from the 1991 Disney film the Rocketeer. And this chapter being set in Rocket Town I figured that it would be rather appropriate to put him here.

Oh and for those of you curious about Mune/Sanzun's appearance I found the perfect actor to compare him to.

The actor Cliff Simon, best known for playing the role of the Goa'uld System Lord Ba'al in the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1, is how I envision Mune/Sanzun…and Stargate fans should notice the similarities between Mune/Sanzun and Ba'al…such as the yellow eyes when Sanzun is in control as opposed to the familiar glowing eyes of the Goa'uld.


	37. Reunions of Light & Dark

The Gummy ship had gone directly to Radiant Garden where Yen Sid had informed them that since the enemy knew of their family's whereabouts that they needed to be sent to the most well defended world in the universe…which was Radiant Garden. It was also where Lulu was recovering from the injuries that she had received from Sanzun.

Ven walked into her hospital room to find her asleep and her body horribly bruised. The doctors believed that she would survive despite her injuries which were severe. Ven took her hand as he sat down by her bed. He noticed asleep in a small cot nearby was Sora, still under the effects of the sleep spell that Yen Sid had cast on him and the others. The Turks had reported that only one of the children was missing…Kairi.

Ven continued to hold her hand for what seemed like hours.

"You want some company?" Terra asked as he silently came in. Ven silently nodded as Terra sat down.

"How's Riku?" Ven asked.

"He's fine…he's still asleep." Terra replied.

"Good…Tidus?" "Same." "Wakka?" "He's a bit shaken up from the events recently but Yuna says he'll be fine."

They sat in silence for a while as Lulu remained in her slumbering state. Ven then started to softly recite…

"_Though a thousand words  
Have never been spoken  
They'll fly to you  
Crossing over the time and distance holding you  
Suspended on silver wings"_

_"And a thousand words  
One thousand confessions  
Will cradle you  
Making all of the pain you feel seem far away  
They'll hold you forever"_

_"Cause a thousand words  
Call out through the ages  
They'll fly to you  
Even though I can't see, I know they're reaching you  
Suspended on silver wings"_

_"Oh, a thousand words  
One thousand embraces  
Will cradle you  
Making all of your weary days seem far away  
They'll hold you forever"_

_"Oh, a thousand words  
Have never been spoken  
They'll fly to you  
They'll carry you home and back into my arms  
Suspended on silver wings."_

_"And a thousand words  
Call out through the ages  
They'll cradle you  
Turning all of the lonely years to only days  
They'll hold you forever  
A Thousand Words."_

As Ven finished Terra noticed a tear running down Lulu's cheek and nudged Ven to point it out.

"Lu? Lu sweetie, are you awake?" Ven asked as his heart raced.

"Say it again one more time." She said weakly as she cracked her eyelid open slightly.

"I'll give you two some privacy." Terra said as he clapped Ven on the shoulder.

"Hey Ven if you need me to do anything…" Terra said as Ven looked back at him with a smile.

"You're doing it right now, brother." Ven said as Terra smiled back and left the room.

"Ven." Lulu said as she turned her head slightly.

"I know who did this to me…" she said as Ven nodded knowingly.

"I do too…and it's not entirely Mune's fault." Ven replied as Lulu looked confused.

"What are you talking about it's not his fault…he came at me…I saw him." She said weakly.

"I know that…but what you saw was a sick man…Aqua explained to me that prior to his disappearance, he was seeing a shrink for multiple personality disorder." Ven explained as Lulu looked surprised.

"The man you saw was Mune…but it was his secondary and now more dominant personality in control…we call him Sanzun." Ven explained as Lulu looked distant as if in thought.

"Oh poor Aqua…I bet she is going crazy with trying to figure out what to do." Lulu said as Ven sighed as he remembered Aqua's capture.

"There's more…Before we came here we ran into Sanzun again and forced her to come with him…he also appears to have Kairi now as well." Ven said as Lulu looked at him in shock.

"She's a prisoner now?" Lulu asked as Ven nodded.

"I'll get her back Lu…and I'll make Sanzun pay for it too." Ven replied, "I just wish that you hadn't gotten involved in this."

"I knew the risks…I accepted them…and I still accept them…now go…find her…bring her back…find the apprentice…find Kingdom Hearts." Lulu said as Ven sighed in anger.

"What now?" Lulu asked slightly annoyed.

"We've learned that it's not Sanzun behind all this he's merely a puppet…but his master…" Ven said as Lulu arched an eyebrow.

"Who's his master?" she asked.

"The same man we were sent to find…Xehanort…the apprentice." Ven said as Lulu's eyes widened.

"What?! You can't go up against one of Yen Sid's apprentices…he'll kill you!" Lulu said as Ven shook his head.

"I have no choice…he's already rained destruction on one heavily populated world…it was a miracle that most of the people survived." Ven said as he then explained the events that took place in Midgar.

"Black Materia can only be used once…same with the White Materia." She said as Ven nodded understandingly.

"We don't know if he has more…and if he does…we're going to need more than just a White Materia to stop him." Ven said as Lulu nodded.

"Then let's hope you find Aqua and the other two clues first." Lulu said as Wall-e poked his head around the corner in with a sad expression. Lulu noticed and smiled as she motioned for the robot to come in.

"Hey there little guy." She said as both she and Ven smiled at the robot. Wall-e then reached in his cavity and handed her the holo-disk of _Hello Dolly_ that they had bought in Rocket Town.

"Oh why thank you Wall-e…" Lulu said as Ven handed it to her.

"_Lu…Lu." _He said with a sad tone in his processor.

"Thank you Wall-e…this will give me something to watch." Lulu said with a smile as Wall-e nodded and slowly rolled out.

"For a robot…he's got one heart of gold." Ven said as Lulu nodded.

"So…" Lulu said after a while of silence.

"I just don't think I can leave yet…I just can't…can't bear the thought of losing you or Sora." Ven said as Lulu sighed.

"I know you're doubtful…but try to remember that no matter what happens…even if I pass on to the Farplane…I'll still be with you." Lulu said as a tear started to run down Ven's face as he then stood up and kissed his wife on the lips before turning towards the slumbering Sora and kissing him on the forehead. He then stood up and walked out towards the door, but not before stopping and giving one last kiss to his wife and then leaving.

Little did they realize that they were being listened to by the most unexpected of creature.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Vincent, having already had a heartfelt reunion with Lucrecia who mourned over her previous actions in transforming Vincent into what he is now despite Vincent's eager forgiveness, was standing on the balcony of the castle looking out into the distance as Tseng approached from behind.

"So it's true…" Tseng said as Vince turned towards his former protégé.

"What is?" Vincent asked.

"You have changed…and Verdot says that you've tendered your resignation." Tseng said as he approached his former mentor.

"I have things to sort out…a friend I need to help…places to go…light to find." Vincent said as Tseng huffed and crossed his arms impatiently.

"I just can't believe that the great Vincent Valentine is calling it quits." Tseng said as Vincent gave him a glare.

"I wouldn't call it quitting…I would call it necessary." Vincent replied.

"Call it what you want Vincent…but it still sounds like quitting to me." Tseng replied as Vincent placed a hand on the Turk's shoulder who jerked it out from under his hand.

"I guess all I can say then is…train your protégé Elena like I trained you…and pray that you never wind up like me." Vincent said as he walked off leaving a sulky Tseng behind.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

Aqua had quickly discovered that her "prison" was indeed facade for some kind of sick twisted dream that Sanzun had concocted.

She would walk out the door to find the islands exactly as they were when she left but completely devoid of all people but herself and Kairi.

She had also learned much to her dread that the Kairi she saw before her was indeed the real Kairi. She yearned for knowledge of whether or not Lulu and the other children were ok. Little did she realize that her hero was closer than she thought.

In truth she was being held within a holographic training chamber miles beneath the surface of the now ruined Midgar.

"How goes the progress of the clones?" Sanzun asked Hojo as he entered.

"Like a simple native from such a primitive world could understand such technology." Hojo snapped as Sanzun growled silently.

"Doctor." Sanzun growled, "Need I remind you that despite you're intelligence…we do not need you emphasis on not!"

"The intelligence of your other scientists says otherwise." Hojo replied.

"Oh I am beginning to long for the day that the master gives me authorization to gut you like a fish." Sanzun said as Hojo turned towards the warrior.

"You dare threaten me?!" Hojo snarled only to recoil from Sanzun as he held his Keyblade to the scientist's throat.

"Don't tempt me 'professor." Sanzun growled as a calm voice echoed…

"Usher our Souls." And a black portal appeared as a dark haired man emerged in a light purple straightjacket like uniform emerged with glowing light blue stripes running up and down the suit with a pair of mechanical wings on his back and a muzzle like head strap around his head.

"Leave the scientist to his work Sanzun." The man said as if in a calm trance.

"(Groan) Who the hell invited you Nero?!" Sanzun replied as he lowered the Keyblade.

"Brother sent me to retrieve you…please don't make this anymore unpleasant than it has to be." Nero replied as Sanzun huffed.

"Very well…can't keep 'Frosty the Immaculate' waiting." Sanzun grumbled as he stormed through the portal that Nero had emerged from with said man behind him.

Sanzun and Nero entered a large green glowing chamber where the hooded figure, Maleficent, and a tall spiky white haired man with a well toned body, white pants and holding a pair of katana like gunblades at his side, hovered over an unconscious red haired ten year old girl in a uniform similar to Nero's.

"This girl will make an excellent member of our army…but I sense within her even greater potential then that of a mere Soldier." The white haired man said with a sinister smirk.

"Perhaps as a member of one of your elite warriors?" the visage asked.

"Indeed my friend…henceforth she shall be known as…Shelke the Transparent." The white haired man said as he turned to one of the soldiers.

"You there…have her taken to professor Hojo in his lab…and make sure that those two executives cooperate…what are their names again…bah the woman's I can remember but the fat one with the obnoxious laugh?" the man asked as Sanzun rolled his eyes.

"Heidegger…the man who inadvertently covered the tracks of your alleged death five years ago to prevent the people from knowing it was actually your sabotage?" Sanzun asked as the white haired man glared at the warrior.

"Speak out of turn again Sanzun…and your little plaything down there will be tossed in the reactor below us." The man threatened.

"Peace my friend…Sanzun's wife is one of the first three keys to finding Kingdom Hearts…once we find it…we can achieve the victory that our ancestors failed to achieve over five thousand years ago." The visage said as the white haired man smirked.

"True…alright, take her and have her fitted with the SND technology capacity." The man ordered as the soldier nodded and pushed the cart with the girl on it down the hall. What the villains didn't realize is that they had accidently given the girl to none other than the spy amongst their ranks…Cloud Strife.

Cloud recognized the girl…she was Shelke Rui, one of the third class SOLDIERs that was in basic training with Zack…her twin sister had been desperately looking for her during and after the evacuation of Midgar…but could never find her.

He had to do something…but he was undercover and couldn't just take her away…he could be detected and killed…or worse…his primary goal was to try and locate Aqua and Kairi, and try to spring them…but whether or not they could escape at all was another story entirely.

Aqua sat playing with Kairi…she had discovered that the memory spell had been undone and Kairi remembered her.

Being with her daughter was the only thing keeping her from going mad.

Then something on Kairi's arm caught her attention…it was a small round Band-Aid that Aqua didn't remember being there when she last saw her.

"Kairi honey…how did you get the owie on your arm?" Aqua asked as Kairi looked at the bandage.

"Daddy let that mean old monkey man do it." Kairi explained as Aqua's heart started racing.

"What did he do to you?" Aqua asked.

"He let him stick me with this sharp pointy thing…it hurt a lot." Kairi replied as Aqua realized what had happened…they had either injected her with something or had taken something out.

"Kairi honey what was in the pointy thing?" she asked.

"Nothing first…then the red stuff that comes out when I get an owie." Kairi replied as Aqua was partially relieved that she hadn't been injected with anything like Calamity or Jenova cells but she was curious as to why they removed a sample of her blood.

"Now who is this monkey man?" Aqua asked.

"Daddy said his name was Mojo." Kairi replied as Aqua started turning the air inside her head blue with a string of unspoken curses towards the freak weasel scientist that was Professor Hojo.

"You're not going to let the monkey man do it to me again are you?" Kairi asked as Aqua shook her head.

"Oh I promise you Kairi…he will never come near my baby again…and live to tell about it." Aqua said as she glared outside the window. Then she saw something that sparked her curiosity. A rectangular portion of the skyline looked like it had static in it. She proceeded to walk outside and approach the static filled rectangle.

She reached forward and touched the rectangle to discover that it was a hologram…the entire town was one giant hologram. She looked closer to see a faint image in the static.

She summoned her Keyblade and aimed it at the static and the image became more defined…it was a keyhole.

"Oh very clever Sanzun…but it won't last." Aqua said as she put away the Keyblade and walked back into the house where she started trying to devise a plan of escape for her and Kairi.

* * *

**End Chapter 37.**

I'll bet you're surprised about the Tsvitets from Dirge of Cerberus being present and involved…but more to come later.

I don't own the Tsvitets…


	38. Virtual False Reality

Terra was sitting in the medical ward waiting room reading a magazine as a sudden flash of spiky black hair appeared from over the magazine.

"Zack?" he asked and sure enough the ten year old first class SOLDIER was standing before him.

"Hey uncle Terra…I heard that Riku was here so I jumped on a gummy ship and here I am." Zack replied.

"How did you get a gummy ship so fast?" Terra asked.

"You have to ask? I'm the 'Herald of the Lifestream,' I say hop they leap…you do the math." Zack replied drolly…he didn't really like his newfound fame that much…but it did have it's advantages…this being one of them.

"Yeah well he's still under that sleeping spell." Terra said as he stealth fully removed a snoring blanket next to him revealing the slumbering white haired boy.

"Yikes I haven't seen him this tired in ages." Zack said as he walked up then frowned as he noticed something.

"Uh Uncle Terra did any of the medics give him a shot or something?" Zack asked as Terra furrowed his brow and shook his head.

"Then why is there a bandage here where there's a vain?" Zack asked as Terra arched an eyebrow and saw the bandage.

"Hang on a second Zack this is something I need to investigate." Terra said as he got up and headed for Lulu's room where he saw her watching the _Hello Dolly_ Video.

"Excuse me for a moment I need to check something real quick." Terra said as he checked Sora's arm.

"What are you doing?" she asked as Zack came in carrying the unconscious Riku.

"Geez I forgot how much this guy weighs." Zack grunted as Terra found what he was looking for.

"Ok this is getting suspicious." Terra said as Zack went wide eyed.

"Him too?!" Zack asked.

"Zack what are you doing here?" Lulu asked.

"Oh Hi Mrs. Lulu…By Minerva what happened to you?!" Zack asked as he saw her bruised body.

"Sanzun." Terra and Lulu replied in unison as Zack groaned.

"This guy is really getting on Director Lazard's and my nerves." Zack said.

"How does he…wait a minute weren't you wearing a third class uniform the last time?" Lulu asked.

"Why don't you bring her up to speed while I investigate this matter." Terra said as he left the room.

"Nurse?! NURSE!" Terra bellowed to one of the passing nurses.

"Yes sir?" "Did anyone order that a blood sample be taken from the two boys that came in with the patient in that room?" Terra asked.

"No sir…they haven't even been ordered to have even so much as a physical." The nurse replied.

"Thank you Nurse…carry on." Terra said as he returned to the room where Zack had just finished explaining about his duel with Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz.

"Hate to interrupt the riveting tale but no one here took the samples." Terra said as Lulu arched an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" Lulu asked as Terra replied…

"Look on Riku and Sora's right arm inside where the joint is and you will see a small bandage there…how and when it got there is a mystery…but I'll wager there is one dirty little rat fink-"

"I am not a RAT!!" a voice (Sounding strangely like Vincent Price) yelled from the wall.

"What the?!" Zack yelled as they saw a big rat in a dress suit looking angrily out the door of a large mouse hole in the wall.

"We're not talking about you…go away." Terra said as the rat blinked.

"He-He, Sorry…my mistake." The rat replied with an innocent grin as he slammed the door.

"Oooookkkkaaaayyyyy…that was weird." Lulu said.

"But I'll wager my Keyblade that Sanzun's behind those bandages being on their arms." Terra said.

"Well I would think so." A rather distinguished British voice said from out of nowhere.

"Zack…please tell me you're making voices again." Terra said as Zack shook his head.

"(Ahem) down here." The voice said again as Terra looked down to see a small mouse in a tan tweed trench coat, wearing a rat-catcher hat, and smoking a small pipe.

"I couldn't help but overhear but it sounds like you're on the correct track for finding this mysterious fiend." The mouse said.

"Who or what are you?" Zack asked as he held out his hand so the mouse could climb on.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Basil of Baker Street…private detective." The mouse said.

"Basil of Baker Street?!" the rat from the wall yelled in anger as Terra grabbed the vermin by the tale.

"Oh shut up Rattigan." Basil said as the rat started trying to claw at the mouse.

Terra promptly opened the window and chucked the rat out.

"Well done sir…you've rid the mouse world of one fiendish sewer rat." Basil said.

"_I am not a RAT!!"_

"Thanks but do you want to tell us what you were doing listening in on us?" Terra asked.

"Quite simply…I was spying on the very rat you disposed of." Basil replied. _"AUGH he said it again!"_

"I'm beginning to wonder how long of a drop that was." Zack said as he arched an eyebrow.

"Ok you're spying on the rat…" _"GAH oh come on!!" _"…and you overhear us…how much exactly did you hear?" Terra asked.

"Every word since the Madame's husband first entered." Basil replied.

"I see…so what would you know about our situation?" Terra asked.

"As I can tell…" Basil said as he started speaking fast, "…you are trying to track down one of the last surviving members either that or a supporter of the dead or dying race the Calamities. One of your friends has been captured and is most likely being held hostage by this fiend, along with her daughter. She also possesses one of three clues to the whereabouts of Kingdom Hearts, the Cetra's last ditch effort against the Calamities, but was captured before she could share them at which point you also have learned that the true mastermind behind these events is in reality master Yen Sid's former apprentice Xehanort. Now you must increase the pace at which you find the last two remaining clues and hold on to them until you can reunite with your companions with or without the intervention of another friend on the inside acting as a spy amongst their ranks. There is now the new mystery of what the mysterious bandages are doing on the arms of both your son and her son and quite possibly you're friend's daughter…how am I doing so far?"

Terra, Zack, and Lulu were dumbfounded.

"I shall assume by the stunned silence that I am correct?" Basil asked as he took a puff of his pipe.

"You got all that just from Ven and Lulu's conversation?" Zack asked.

"Quite so actually…it was a simple matter of deductive reasoning." Basil said with a smile.

"I just have one last question." Terra said as he leaned towards the mouse.

"And that is?" Basil asked.

"How are you at riddles?"

* * *

**Later…**

"So you think this mouse can help us solve some of the riddles and find some answers?" Aerith asked after Terra informed the others about Basil.

"Yeah the guy knew everything about our quest." Terra replied.

"I must have said a lot then." Ven said to no one in particular.

"What's all the commotion?" Mickey asked as he entered.

"Mickey old chap!" Basil said as he noticed the mouse's entrance.

"Basil! Oh gosh I haven't seen you in years…did you ever nab Rattigan?" Mickey asked as Basil nodded.

"Thanks to Terra here yes." Basil replied.

"Typical one mouse knows the other…wait why am I surprised by this?" Ven asked.

"Beats me but I'm willing to let the mouse help out a bit." Cid said as everyone nodded.

"Well then where too?" Yuna asked.

"Well thanks to the recent star charts I've been able to identify the world where one of the other suits of armor are hidden." Aerith said as she turned to a star chart and pointed to a world.

"The world is called Olympus Coliseum." Aerith said as Terra's eyes widened.

"Olympus…I think there's an entrance to the underworld there." Terra said as everyone arched an eyebrow towards him.

"How do you know?" Irvine asked.

"A little birdie told me?" he asked innocently.

"No matter…I guess it's off to Olympus Coliseum." Cid said as he spun around to the controls.

"Aye the game's afoot!" Basil said excitedly as he sat down on top of Wall-e, next to his head.

"_Wwwallee"_ the robot greeted.

"A pleasure." Basil replied with the tip of his rat catcher as the gummy ship roared off into space.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

It was nighttime in the virtual Destiny Isles and Aqua was pacing back and forward trying to think of the perfect escape plan…

"Come on Aqua think…If only I had some way to communicate with Cloud on the outside…but my best hope is getting through to Mune." She said to herself as Kairi slept in her room.

Then she heard the noise she didn't want to hear…the door unlocking as Sanzun entered.

"Honey…I'm ho-"he said as she slapped him across the face mid-sentence.

"I can have you shot for that you know." He said as he regained his composure.

"Compared to this, that's probably the more humane option." Aqua replied as she turned away from him.

"Oh…must we fight? Must we go around and around until we ultimately decide to make up and head to the bedroom?" Sanzun said as she whirled around to face him with her fist ready to punch him but he caught it. Needless to say she was livid.

"You always were a feisty little woman." Sanzun said with a chuckle as Aqua turned away again and glanced at the static door as she could see a figure stalking in the shadows.

"Get out Sanzun…I'm not here to fulfill your leud desires and fantasies." She said angrily.

"True…but my master is getting impatient…we need the location of Kingdom Hearts and we need it now." Sanzun said as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Too bad…I only have a third…which is one third more than you have." She said as Sanzun smiled sinisterly.

"Have you ever wondered what it's like to be heartless?" he asked as he approached her with a sinister smile on his face.

"W-what are you talking about?" she asked nervously as she backed away but he quickly grabbed her and forced her to the couch.

"Have you ever wondered what it's like to have the center of all you're being ripped from you leaving you a feral black beast with little to no control of your actions except to find hearts and consume them?" Sanzun asked as he shoved his hand up her tank top and onto her chest and a dark purple light started emitting from it. (A/N: The pervert)

She started screaming in pain as Sanzun pulled his hand away revealing a glowing pink heart with two streams of water swirling around it like electrons on an atom. Aqua fell into a death like state as Sanzun's eye twitched and then shoved the heart back in with an agonized grunt bringing her back to life.

"W-what was that?!" she said as she realized what just happened.

"Something happened that I didn't expect…you didn't become the beast known as a heartless…you fell into a death like trance which means that because of you're being a Kingdom Knight…you can never become a heartless." Sanzun said as he got off from on top of her.

"Look I'll do anything…just don't do that to me again." She said in pure fear.

"Anything?" he asked interestedly.

"Even…that." She said dejectedly as Sanzun gave an evil chuckle.

"Fortunately for you…Mune still has some control over me…and he prevents me from doing anything of the sort to you." Sanzun replied as Aqua took a breath of relief.

"Now if you shall excuse me my dear…my master calls." Sanzun said sinisterly as he left the room in a black portal.

After he left she collapsed against the counter with her knees to her chest as she cried in the dark.

Then she looked up at the holographic moon out the window and looked hopefully.

"Oh Ven…where are you when I need you the most."

"Probably waiting for me to call him." A familiar voice said.

"Cloud?! Is that you?!" she asked.

"Yeah…it's me." He said as he appeared and crawled through the window.

"It's about time…where are we?" she asked.

"We're in a secret underground military facility miles under Midgar's ruins." Cloud replied.

"Midgar? When was this place put in?" she asked.

"I've been able to check the computers for some data…and they say that it was built ten years ago." Cloud replied.

"Ten Years ago?" she asked.

"Yeah…it was all a part of a secret project the BNL CEO before Forthright had conducted…called Project Deepground." Cloud explained, "But he destroyed all the evidence of its existence when the board of directors forced him out of power…it's been here ever since."

"Ok great…now how do we get out of here?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that getting out is going to be tough…from what I've learned the only way in or out is through the black portals now." Cloud said as Aqua arched an eyebrow.

"What? Then how did we get in here…they couldn't have portaled that gummy ship in could they?" she asked.

"They did actually…otherwise if Meteor hadn't happened, they would be able to use a door that is currently blocked by several thousand tons of debris." Cloud replied.

"Great...well thats both a plus and a minus...they can't get out on foot but neither can we." Aqua said. "Well I guess we'll have to find a plan B."

She then started to think and rub her chest. Cloud noticed and got curious.

"I heard you screaming…what happened?" he asked.

"Sanzun literally ripped my heart out…then put it back...wait a minute…" she said as an idea came to her mind.

"I think I have just come up with the plan to restore Mune and get the hell out of here at the same time." She said eagerly.

"Pray tell?" he asked.

"Well…it may not work, so I'm going to need you to stay here tonight…you can sleep in the basement to avoid detection." She said as Cloud arched an eyebrow.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to have a literal 'heart to heart' chat with Sanzun." She replied.

* * *

**End Chapter 38**

I do not own Basil of Baker Street or Rattigan…they are both from the Disney movie…The Great Mouse Detective.

Yes I am a Sherlock Holmes fan.

I don't own Deepground either…they are from Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus.


	39. The Gospel Truth

Before the chapter could even start a narrator with a deep voice spoke up and recited…

"Long ago, in the far away world of Olympus Coliseum, there was a golden age of powerful gods and extraordinary heroes…and the greatest and strongest of all these heroes was the mighty Hercules. But what is the measure of a true hero…now that is what our story-"

"Will you listen to him…" a woman's voice said, "he's holding up the story and making it sound like some Greek tragedy."

Then in a puff of smoke five women wearing extravagant silk togas appeared before the readers…

"Yeah lighten up dude! This ain't even about Hercules!" one of the women said to the narrator.

"We'll take it from here darling." The woman in the center said as the Narrator replied…

"You go girl." As music started.

"We are the Muses, goddesses of the arts, and proclaimers of heroes." The center one explained

"Heroes like Hercules…" "Honey you mean Hunk-ules…woo who I'd like to make some sweet music-" "OUR story actually begins long before Hercules and the heroes you've been following, many eons ago…" they said as they started singing in a gospel style…

"_Back when the' verse was new,  
the Cetra were all down on their luck,  
and everywhere a bunch of brutes called Calamities ran amuck"_

The large one sang…

_"It was a nasty place  
there was a mess wherever you stepped."_

The center one sang…

_"Where Chaos reigned and evil, fear, and darkness, never slept!"_

Then they all joined in singing back up for various Muses.

_"And then they made Kingdom Hearts!"_

_"It hurled that mighty light!" ("It zapped")_

_"Wiped those suckers off the map," ("They're gone")_

They then sang in unison…

_"And on its own stopped chaos in its tracks!  
and that's the gospel truth,  
its two type A so just relax,  
and that's the very first dish,  
It vanished, with the worlds while still in its view  
though honey it may seem impos'ble,  
that's the gospel truth,"_

_"Now on Mount Olympus,  
lies with gods, it's smooth and sweet, a clue  
Oh though honey it may seem impos'ble  
That's. The. Gospel. Truth!"_

As the music ended the muses faded into the background and the gummy ship appeared over Olympus Coliseum.

**In Olympus Coliseum orbit…**

The gummy ship hovered in the stars above Olympus Coliseum as the heroes agreed on who went and who stayed.

"Did anyone else hear music?" Vincent asked as everyone arched an eyebrow at him then shrugged and continued where they had left off.

"Ok without a doubt I'm going." Terra said as Ven nodded in agreement.

"Well obviously…we're going to need every Keyblade we have at our disposal now that Aqua's…well you get my point." Ven said with a sigh.

"Perhaps for safety sake we should have it be Ven, Rikku, Irvine, Kimahri, Wall-e, and Basil to one group. Terra, Cid, myself, Aerith, Mickey, and Vincent to another." Yuna suggested as Cid shook his head.

"Naw I don't trust leaving my baby here up in orbit." Cid said as he patted the gummy ship's hull.

"Ok then…Basil takes Cid's place?" Yuna said as Basil shrugged.

"It makes no difference to me." Basil said as Terra looked distant.

"Uh thanks but I would rather go alone." Terra said as the others arched an eyebrow.

"Uh how bout NO!!" Rikku replied.

"Rikku's right…it's too risky to go on our own anymore." Irvine said as he cocked his rifle.

"Very well…then who searches what direction?" Terra asked.

"We'll find out when we get there." Ven said.

* * *

**Down on the surface…**

The heroes appeared in a flash of light outside the gates to a massive coliseum.

"Wow would you look at this architecture…ancient Greek if I'm not mistaken." Ven said as he almost literally drooled.

"Quite so my good fellow." Basil said from his perch on Terra's shoulder.

"Great most people have parrots that sit on their shoulder…I get a mouse with a British accent." Terra said as Basil smirked.

"At least this mouse won't leave droppings on your shoulder nor gnaw at your ear at the most inopportune moments." Basil said as Terra shrugged.

"Who can argue with that?" Terra replied.

"Hey who's that guy over there?" Rikku asked as they turned to see a teenaged man with orange hair in a plain white toga and sandals.

"I dunno but he's got some weird goat man running around him and…is that a horse with wings?!" Aerith said as the three people nearby noticed them.

"Look sharp here they come." Ven muttered as the three approached.

"Hey you here to compete in the games too?" the teenager asked.

"Games?" Terra asked.

"Yeah…the Tournament of the Gods…The Olympus Cup…the winner receives a suit of fabled armor that can strengthens the wearer's ability to control the skies." The teenager replied as Terra nudged Ven.

"Well it looks like I am then…the name's Ven." Ven introduced as he held out his hand. As the teen grabbed a hold, a distinct cracking noise was heard as Ven's face scrunched up in pain.

"YEAOOWWWWW!!" he yelled as he started cradling his hand and started shouting "Curaga" repeatedly until Aerith cast it and his hand healed itself.

"Oh sorry about that…I just don't know my own strength." The teen apologized.

"Yeah I noticed…" Ven said as he caught his breath, "…that's some grip though." Ven said as the teen shrugged.

"Well it's my gift and curse…but where is my manners, this is Phil, my trainer, Pegasus my faithful steed, and my name is Hercules." The teenager said as Basil went wide eyed.

"You mean the Hercules?!" Basil asked, "The man of god like strength?!"

"I guess my reputation precedes me already." Hercules replied.

"See kid what did I tell ya?" Phil said to the demigod, "I told ya five little words, Famous-Parents-bring-fame-and-fortune."

"Uh I think that's six." Rikku corrected.

"Hey pipsqueak, am I talking to you?" Phil quipped.

"Watch it goat boy…" Ven growled, "…I've already lost two friends of mine recently and turning you into a punching bag would be just the ticket I need to blow off some steam."

"Hey, Hey, Ven save it for the games." Irvine said as he jumped between the two.

"Fine." Phil and Ven both said in unison as they growled at each other.

Terra handed Basil off to Wall-e as he took Hercules aside.

"I know that you're the son of Zeus but can you do me a favor?" Terra asked the demigod.

"I'm not throwing the match if that's what you're asking." Herc replied as Terra shook his head.

"That's not it at all…I have someone in the underworld and I heard that there's a passage down there that mortals can use." Terra said as Herc nodded understandingly and pointed to a pair of blue doors opposite the Arena's doorway.

"That's the passage to the underworld, you can come and go as you please." Herc said as Terra sighed.

"Thanks but I hear that Hades is a bit stubborn when it comes to allowing the deceased to manifest themselves…I was hoping I could go down there and see who I wanted to without getting any static from Hades." Terra said as Herc started to rub his chin.

"Well…it depends…is it a close friend or relative?" Herc asked.

"Yes actually…my wife, my sister, and my brother in law." Terra said as Herc nodded.

"I'll ask him." Herc said with a smile as he turned towards the sky.

"OH MIGHTY ZEUS I BESEECH THEE!!" He yelled as Terra face palmed. He didn't want the others to know what he was doing…so much for privacy.

In a single bolt of lightning a tall glowing man with white hair in a purple toga with a light blue pattern appeared.

"Herc my boy what do ya call upon your old man for?" the man boomed happily as our heroes went wide eyed.

"I was wondering if you have any of those underworld passes…my friend here wants to see some relatives of his." Herc requested as Terra wanted to bury his head in the sand.

"Terra? You have people in the underworld?!" Ven asked bewildered.

"Duh…remember what I said in Midgar?! I'm a widower remember…and Zack would have been an orphan if I hadn't taken him in." Terra replied as Ven face palmed.

"Oh yeah that's right." Ven said sheepishly.

"Hmm…" Yuna said as she thought carefully.

"I've got one person that I want to see again too!" she yelled.

"Whaddya say dad?" Hercules said as Zeus smiled and laughed.

"You don't even need to ask son…I recognize these mortals." He said as our heroes looked surprised.

"Y-you do?" Rikku asked.

"Yep…I am a god you know…you three…Ven, Terra, and Mickey are wielders of the Keyblade…Ven and Terra especially are two of the chosen protectors of Kingdom Hearts." Zeus said as he then remembered something.

"I guess this means that I'll be taking the grand prize off the table then…seeing as the armor is technically Ven's." Zeus said as a sudden burst of thick black smoke appeared behind the heroes.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out bro!" a strange darkish blue man with a head of blue flames in a black toga said as he appeared.

"Why take the prize of the table and give it to someone who hasn't earned it…let 'em fight for the prize…and if he should die in the process…oh well." The man said.

"And you are?" Ven asked.

"Hades, Lord of the Dead, Hi how ya doin'?" Hades replied, as he twirled his hand and a card appeared.

"My card." He said as he handed them a gray crown shaped card with his picture on it…but quickly snatched it back.

"Whoops wrong card…wrong game too." Hades said as the heroes arched a confused eyebrow and Hades handed them a plain gray rectangular card.

It read, _"Hades…Lord of the Underworld…where everyone is just dying to get in…over 9,999,900 billion served and growing every day…call your local undertaker for reservations."_

"I am so encouraged." Yuna said sarcastically.

"Yeah I thought you would be." Hades said just as sarcastically.

"But seriously Zeusie, babe, we need to have a long talk about legality…" Hades said as he put his arm around Zeus, "I mean come on…you switch the grand prize before the game starts…it's called a bait and switch…and people don't like that I'm telling ya."

"Well…" Zeus said, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Hades was right, "…Very well…Sorry Ven…if your gonna get this armor you gotta win it fair and square in the games."

"That's ok sir…I'm in need of a good pressure valve right now anyway." Ven replied.

"However I will grant one thing…" Zeus said as he whipped out three golden coins with the Olympian symbol on it causing Hades's jaw to drop.

"These are Underworld furlough tokens; they can get anyone you want out of the underworld for as long as you're here…after you leave though…they fade back into the underworld." Zeus said as he handed two to Terra and one to Yuna.

"Uh I don't mean to be rude sir but there are three people I would like to see, and you only gave me two coins." Terra said as Hades smirked.

"Yeah well ya see one of the bozos you're here to see isn't dead yet." Hades said as Terra's eyes widened.

"Huh?! WHO?!" Terra asked as Hades snickered.

"Na ah, ah, that would be telling…and it would give spoilers for later chapters." Hades said as the others arched their eyebrows

"Chapters?" they asked.

"Aww forget it…you stiffs are stiffer than the one's back home." Hades said as he snapped his fingers and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

**In the Underworld…**

Hades was growling as he stormed through to his lair in the underworld.

Unbeknownst to him the five Muses appeared again before the readers. The lead one then said as the music started…

"If there's one god you don't want to get steamed up, it's Hades." "Cause he had an evil plan…"

_"He ran the underworld  
But thought the dead were dull and uncouth  
He was as mean as he was ruthless  
and that's the gospel truth  
He had a plan to shake things up  
and that's the gospel truth"_

"Thank you ladies! But will you PLEASE take five, take a powder, take a BREAK!!" Hades yelled angrily as the five muses huffed and stormed out, insulted.

Hades then turned to his two loyal henchmen, Pain and Panic.

"What are we going to do keep those lousy Keyblade bums from getting that armor…they get a hold of it and badda-bing-badda-KA BLAM!! They get to revive anyone they darn well please from the dead without having to ask ME!!" Hades grumbled as he thought long and hard.

"Wow…too bad we don't have anyone that's beaten them all before." Pain said as Panic nodded.

"Yeah like that Sephiroth guy…Yeow that guy was deadly." Panic flinched as Hades smiled sinisterly.

"Hmmm Sephiroth eh? I think it's time we sent them an appropriate aloha." Hades said with sinister glee as he pulled out a large phonebook and found Sephiroth's number.

* * *

**Meanwhile in the Deepground facility…**

Aqua finished getting her plan ready to execute and it now hinged on Sanzun's return to the fake house, she was wearing her usual pajama attire, with her travel clothes hidden with Cloud in the basement.

For her plan to work, Kairi had to be asleep…so she had Cloud plant a small sleeping pill in a bowl of Soup that Aqua had made so that she would sleep throughout the whole ordeal.

"I hope this plan works Aqua…I don't relish being transformed into their slave again." Cloud said as Aqua reassured the young ex-SOLDIER.

"Don't worry Cloud…if it bombs then you beat a hasty retreat out of here and take Kairi with you…I'd die in peace knowing she's safe and away from here." Aqua replied as Cloud huffed.

"That is not really reassuring." Cloud replied as Aqua heard the front door knob rattling and quickly shoved Cloud into the basement through a trap door in the closet.

"Oh Aqua!" Sanzun called out in a sinister sing song manner.

"Back here." She replied seductively.

"Ah there's my lovely bride." Sanzun said as Aqua stood up and sauntered towards him seductively.

"I've been thinking…" she said as Sanzun arched an interested eyebrow.

"Yes?" he asked.

"…and I think…having a big strong man of the darkness is kind of…sexy." She replied.

"Really?" he asked as she replied with a seductive "Mmm-Hmm," and shoved him onto the bed and landed on top of him as they started making out like teenagers.

But as they kissed, Aqua kept Sanzun's arms pinned as she focused all her strength into her heart. Her chest started to glow as she pressed it closer to Sanzun's. His eyes opened as he could feel his heart pulling closer to hers. Finally their hearts merged into one in a spectacular burst of light as Sanzun felt himself lose control of his body shortly before the hearts returned to their owners. Aqua opened her eyes and saw the familiar blue eyes of the man she married.

"Mune?" she asked cautiously as she got off of him.

"A-Aqua?" he asked as he slowly sat up.

"Yes Mune it's me…can you remember anything?" she asked.

"Y-yes I remember everything…they weren't dreams…they were what I saw when Sanzun was in control of me." He replied.

"Then you'll help us escape…open a portal to the Destiny Islands…and let's go home." Aqua pleaded as Mune shook his head.

"I'll let you go…but I cannot go with you." He replied.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Because if I leave now, they may get suspicious." Mune replied as Aqua nodded.

"Ok…but I'll keep a light on for you when I get home…" Aqua said with a smile as she stomped her foot twice, signaling Cloud to come out.

She then looked around and smiled before she kissed him one more time, "…our real…home." She said as Mune shook his head.

"Aqua…I can never go home…I have gone past the point of no return…I can remain here and work in secret to sabotage their efforts…but I cannot leave…I will gladly die while endeavoring to atone for the sins I've committed." Mune said as Kairi's heart sank and Cloud emerged from the basement with a sleeping Kairi in his arms.

"Mune…" she said as Mune shook his head.

"I can't go home…but no matter what happens to me…know that even when Sanzun was in control…I still loved you with all my heart…and I will never stop loving you." He said as he turned and created a black portal in the closet.

"This portal will lead you to the Olympus Coliseum…that's where Ven and your friends are right now…Our spy satellites detected them and calculated their trajectory." He said as Aqua nodded to Cloud who ran through the portal with Kairi in his arms.

"I'll still love you too." Aqua said as she kissed him for what seemed like an eternity before he forced them apart. She walked towards the portal before turning with a hurt expression and then forcing her way into the portal.

She turned as she emerged, into the bright sun covered yet empty arena of the Coliseum, towards the portal where she could see Mune standing mournfully as the portal closed.

She fell to her knees as Cloud watched with Kairi still in his arms and the Muses once again appeared before the readers as the music started again.

"_Her Mune was normal now  
but since he did not forget his bad self  
He still retained his Clammy powers  
So thank his lucky star"_

"_But our dear Aqua wept  
Because her love could never come home  
She'd have to raise their precious baby  
As he watched from afar"_

_The Clammy's horrid plan  
Was hatched as she accepted the truth  
Her heart grew stronger ev'ry sec'  
And that's the gospel truth"_

* * *

**End Chapter 39.**

I do not own any of the characters from Disney's Hercules.

I felt like the songs fit the mood quite well for this chapter.

Yes Mune is himself once more. Sanzun has been buried by the power and determination of Aqua's heart and Mune's will to regain control.

I hope you like the addition of musical portions to this…because it just loses the effect otherwise.

The only song unaltered at all is the second one about Hades…the rest were tweaked to fit the story…and I do not own them at all.

To clarify the songs used are, The Gospel Truth I, II, and III.


	40. The Tournament Begins

Terra and Yuna had agreed to stick with Ven and the others before heading down to revive their lost loved ones, and they were currently heading into the arena to get in some practice time.

"So your Wife and your Sister are the one's you're reviving eh?" Ven asked as they passed through the arena lobby.

"Yeah…though I wonder if Hades meant that one of them was still alive…Who it is I guess we'll find out." Terra replied as they entered the arena.

"Yeah well I…Just…is that…is that who I think it is?" Ven asked as they all stopped. Across the arena was a blue haired woman on her knees with a tall spiky haired blond man kneeling next to her with a sleeping red haired bundle in his arms and a large brown sack over his shoulder.

"AQUA!!" Ven shouted to see if it was her.

The woman leapt up and turned towards them, it was indeed Aqua and Cloud.

"IT IS YOU!!" Ven yelled as they stampeded towards their friends.

"By Minerva how did you escape?!" Aerith asked.

"I had a little…'heart to heart' with Mune and he let us go." Aqua said as she then explained what had happened.

"So Mune is back to his old self now huh?" Ven asked.

"Yeah but he can't come home…he's right…I mean if our enemies ever found out about his having been turned to our side they could kill him, or worse." Aqua replied.

"So how does that explain you're being in your PJs?" Terra asked as Aqua looked herself over.

"Oh yeah…Cloud, my bag please." She said as Cloud temporarily handed Kairi off to Ven and handed the sack over his shoulder to Aqua revealing it to be the travel gear she was wearing when she was captured.

"Uh Mickey could you send me up to the ship for a moment…and you may want to give Cid a heads up that I'm coming." Aqua asked as she took the sack, and Mickey twirled his hand causing Aqua to disappear in a flash of light.

"So what do we do about the sleeping beauty here?" Ven asked as he bounced slightly with Kairi still in his arms.

"Well…you are her mom's best friend…" Terra said.

"…and her godfather." Ven said with a smile, "Lu and I are Kairi's godparents like Aqua is Sora's godmother."

"Aww that's so sweet." Yuna said with a smile.

"So…I guess we should probably go head to the underworld…Zeus said that they can leave the underworld for as long as we're here but they can't leave the world…otherwise they fade back into the underworld." Terra said as he turned to Yuna.

"Hey, you think you should call Zack and get him here so he can see his mom?" Rikku asked as Terra nodded.

"I hadn't thought of that…he said he'd stay in Radiant Garden for as long as Riku was there…he feels obligated to keep him safe…Beam me up Mickey." Terra said as Mickey sent him back up to the ship.

* * *

**Half an hour later…**

Zack appeared in the arena entrance in a flash of light with Terra, Rikku, Yuna, and Cloud waiting for him while the others practiced inside.

"CLOUD your back!!" Zack yelled as he saw his friend.

"Yep…thank Aqua's husband for helping us out." Cloud replied with a smile.

"Mune?! You mean he's back too?" Zack asked as Terra shrugged.

"Well…he's back in control of his body but he's not with us at the moment…he's taken over as the spy amongst their ranks." Terra replied as Zack nodded happily.

"Can we go now?" Rikku asked.

"Sure let's go." Terra said as Zack followed behind them.

"Go where?" he asked.

"Simple…the underworld." Terra replied.

"The Underworld…what in the blazes for?" Zack asked.

"You'll see." Terra said as Yuna arched an eyebrow.

"You didn't tell him?" Yuna asked.

"No, I wanted it to be a surprise." Terra replied with a smirk as they reached a dark ledge near a dark green sea of mist.

"What is that?" Rikku asked as they saw sailing through the mist a small boat with four people on in. The figure on the back was clad in a solid black hood and robes and was moving the boat along like a ferry.

"Let me see if I can remember my Bulfinch's Mythology correctly…uh that's Charon the ferryman of the underworld…he's the one who ferries the souls of the dead across the river Styx to the underworld…for a small fee of course." Terra explained as he and Yuna removed the Underworld Furlough Tokens from their pockets.

"Hey look who's in the boat!" Rikku said as the boat got closer.

"It's Auron!" Yuna said as the boat drew closer, "And he looks…young!"

"Hey Zack, you recognize any of the women in the boat?" Terra asked as Zack's jaw dropped and a tear started running down his face.

"Mom?" he said as the boat started to dock. Inside was a brown haired woman sitting in front of Auron wearing a dress similar to Aerith's only green. Then in front of her was a white haired woman in a white dress that Terra smiled at the sight of with a tear running down his face.

"Terra?" the white haired woman said as she stood up and out of the boat.

"Rikka." He said as they kissed.

"Mom?" Zack said as the brown haired woman emerged.

"Zack!" she yelled as the two hugged for what seemed like hours.

"Yuna." Auron said with a smile as he emerged from the boat.

"It's good to see you again Sir Auron." Yuna said as she and Rikku hugged the red robed warrior.

Then after a moment Terra and Yuna turned to the boat man.

"I guess this means you want payment now?" Terra asked. He was surprised when the boatman shook his head and pointed a black leather gloved hand towards a nearby door.

Then out of one of the large nearby doors to the underworld a figure in black robes holding a mug of coffee walked past with its bony hand out stretched towards the mortals.

"Wait if that's Charon…then who's this?" Cloud asked with an arched eyebrow as they turned towards the boat man who removed his hood to reveal…

"ANGEAL!!" they all yelled in unison.

"I couldn't let you guys have all the fun on your own." Angeal said with a smile as Terra scratched his head after he and Yuna handed Charon their tokens.

"I don't get it…who has the fourth token?" Terra asked as Charon came to Zack and held out his bony hand.

Zack paused for a moment before reaching in his pocket and pausing in surprise before pulling out a token.

"I guess the big guy upstairs decided to give him one too." Angeal said as he stepped out of the boat and Charon silently got into the boat and sailed away.

"Come on let's head to the surface." Terra said as he offered Rikka his arm and they headed up to the surface.

"May I Madame?" Angeal asked Aeris as they joined arms and headed to the surface with Zack, Cloud, Auron, Yuna, and Rikku close behind.

On the surface the rest of the heroes were stunned as they saw Angeal emerging.

"Guys I'd like you to meet my late-wife Rikka and my late-sister Aeris…man that sounds weird." Terra said as Rikka giggled.

"Yeah it does kinda." She replied.

"Rikka it's good to see you again…you too Aeris." Aerith said as she saw her deceased friends.

"It's good to see you again too, Aerith." Aeris replied as Aqua arched an eyebrow at the two.

"Wow…am I seeing double?" she asked.

"More like a lousy translation job." Basil replied from her shoulder as he watched Aerith and Aeris.

"Ok we have a lot of catching up to do." Rikka said to Terra who had his arms around her and his face buried in her hair. She looked a lot like Riku; except she had some very noticeable feminine features and her hair was much longer than Riku's.

"So what about these games?" Ven asked, "We have to win otherwise we don't get the second clue."

"He's right…hey what does it say in the rules about dead people competing?" Rikku asked.

"You mean me?" Angeal asked.

"Well you and Sir Auron perhaps." Yuna replied.

"Please…call me Auron…the Sir part died with me." Auron requested.

"Ok then…Auron." Yuna replied.

"Let's ask the goat man…maybe he knows something." Ven suggested as they headed off.

After a moment…

"Hmm…I just so happens that Zeus has recently added a few new terms for the games…" Phil said to the heroes.

"…anyone, living or dead can compete in the games…the second place competitor wins an Underworld Freedom Token." Phil explained.

"Well there you have it." Ven said with a smile.

"What does it say about team matches?" Angeal asked.

"Three people to a team…no more…double team or single competition is permitted." Phil replied.

"So that means that Angeal, Zack, and Cloud can compete as a team…or Ven, Terra, and Aqua." Rikku said with a smile.

"Or Auron, Yuna, and Rikku." Zack added.

"That's true." Terra replied as Rikka arched an eyebrow but Terra predicted the question.

"Two Ks honey." He said as Rikka nodded understandingly.

"What about an old friend?" a familiar voice asked.

"Paine?! What are you doing here?!" Yuna asked.

"Zack brought me…I thought it would be fun to compete." Paine replied as everyone nodded.

"So this has the makings of a good ol' fashioned brew-ha-ha." Ven said as Aqua punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow, what was that for?" Ven asked.

"No one uses phrases like brew-ha-ha anymore gramps." Aqua replied as Zeus appeared in a bolt of lightning.

"So is everybody ready for the brew-ha-ha?!" He asked eagerly as Aqua sweat dropped and gave Ven a smirk.

"I rest my case." She said with a smirk as Ven rolled his eyes.

"Alright Miss Smarty-britches." Ven said to the blue haired woman.

"Ven, Terra, and Aqua in as Team Destiny!" Terra said as the three approached.

"Zack Fair, Angeal Hewley, and Cloud Strife, in as Team Midgar!" Zack said eagerly as the three SOLDIERs approached.

"Hey Paine you want to compete with Yunie and I?" Rikku asked.

"Sure if the big guy in Red doesn't mind." Paine replied as Auron nodded.

"I don't mind at all." Auron replied.

"Ok then." Rikku said as Yuna, Rikku, and Paine approached the thunder god.

"Yuna, Rikku, and Paine in as Team…uh…Gullwing!" Yuna said as the other two nodded.

"What about you three?" Terra asked Kimahri, Auron, and Vincent who shook their heads.

"Nope…Vincent, Irvine, and I are going solo." Auron said as Irvine nodded.

"He means, we're on the singles circuit." Vincent corrected.

"Don't worry about Kairi…I'll take care of her during the games." Aerith said with a nod as Aqua smiled in agreement.

* * *

**In the arena…**

An audience of Olympian Gods sat in the stands as the competing teams and single competitors marched onto the field amidst the cheering from the gods in the stands.

"LADIES, GENTLEGODS, AND ANYTHING IN BETWEEN!!" a glowing blue Olympian with wings on his helmet and sandals and wearing purple sunglasses (Hermes the Messenger god) announced as he hovered over the arena.

"Welcome to the first annual OLYMPUS CUP!!" he announced.

"First let's begin with our judges!" Hermes said as he flew over to a large booth like table with three gods sitting in them.

"First from the provenance of Athens! Give a warm welcome to Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare!" Hermes announced as Athena waved amidst the cheers and the lone booing from Ares.

"Next to her is none other than the brother of our king of the gods himself…the king of the oceans, give it up for Poseidon!! He's got his grandson Triton of Atlantica in the audience today so let's give him a warm welcome." Hermes announced as Poseidon waved and the entire audience started doing the wave.

"Oh very funny!" Poseidon replied amidst the giggling crowd.

"And last but not least we have the Lifestream itself…give a lively welcome to Minerva!!" Hermes announced as Minerva (in her appearance as described in chapter 33) appeared in a bright glow.

"Well how is this for irony folks…we have Midgar's own proclaimed 'Herald of the Lifestream' Zack Fair as one of our competitors today! I'll bet you're hoping he does well don't you Minerva?" Hermes announced as Minerva blew Zack a kiss causing the latter to blush.

Terra gave Minerva a smirk as she smiled back at him.

"That aside, here are the Muses to explain the prizes!" Hermes said as he turned towards the five Muses near the end of the Arena.

"Thank you Hermes!" Calliope said as the other four muses started to showcase the prizes.

"All competitors get a brand new, Mark VII Thunder horse chariot, great for both off road and on road." She said as they showcased a shining gold and silver plated chariot while the Olympians oohed and awed.

"The third place contestant receives the fabulous First Tsurugi Buster Sword…With Hephaestus original craftsmanship, the First Tsurugi is literally six swords in one!" She said as the muses quickly disassembled and reassembled the sword.

"The second place contestant receives this Underworld Freedom Token…Get your life back with the Underworld Freedom Token! Redeemable for friends, relatives, and even yourself should you or anyone else you know be dead…limit one use per token." She said as the muses held up a shining golden Olympian coin.

"Last but certainly not least, the first place contestant receives this shining suit of ancient Cetra armor…long fabled to hold one third of the clue to the location to Kingdom Hearts…this suit of armor can also enhance one's ability to manipulate the skies!" she said as they revealed the shining armor.

"And honey that's the Gospel Truth, now back to you Hermes!" Calliope said as Hermes flew over the contestants.

"Thank you Calliope…now for our contestants…first is a hero in training, a demigod born on Olympus, but forced to live as a mortal by mysterious circumstances. Give it up for the Prince of Olympus…the one the only HERCULES!!" Hermes announced as Hercules (Now in a smaller version of his hero garb) waved to the cheering crowd.

"Next, we have the Keyblades chosen ones, Ven, Terra, and Aqua; let's give it up for Team Destiny!!" Hermes said as the crowd started cheering even louder.

"Now we have three SOLDIERs from the now ruined city of Midgar…Zack Fair, Angeal Hewley, and Cloud Strife…let's hear it for Team Midgar!!" Hermes yelled as the crowd cheered again.

"Next up we have three lovely ladies that can easily knock your teeth out, here's Yuna, Rikku, and Paine as Team Gullwing!!" Hermes said as several crowd members started chanting, Y! R! P! repeatedly.

"Next we have the living embodiment of the Spirit of Chaos himself…the lone gunman…let's hear it for Vincent Valentine!" Hermes yelled amidst the cheering crowd. "…just a reminder no Chaos form during the competition…all other forms permitted."

"Now we have a former Spiran Guardian…he's been pushing up the Auron Roses for a while now but he's back for another great competition…heeerrreeessss AURON!!" Hermes announced.

"Now we have an expert marksman and ladies-man from Rocket Town…Irvine Kinneas!!" He announced as a small cupid flew up and handed him a note.

"Oh ho! We have a late entry folks being sponsored by the Lord of the Underworld himself…direct from the dark part of Cloud's heart…he's mean…he's evil…he's the One Winged Angel…he's Sephiroth!!" Hermes announced as the entire crowd fell silent and the other competitors paled as they saw Sephiroth emerge from the gates.

Then there was a small trio of cheers as the whole audience turned to see Pain, Panic, and Hades, in the stands cheering for Sephiroth.

"Sheesh tough crowd…now this is going to be a killer competition!" Hades said with a sinister grin as he turned back to the arena.

* * *

**End Chapter 40.**


	41. Thieves & the Last Farewell

For most of the tournament it was a matter of one team or one person against numerous and weak enemies or one large and powerful foe.

It was the Seventh of twenty rounds and it was a triple team match against the bloodthirsty Hydra.

As they watched the battle, Basil couldn't help but feel like something was amiss…he spotted Sephiroth in his corner where he was waiting for his next round, so he was out, Hades…nope still the only one rooting for the Hydra…as predicted…Pain and Panic…MISSING!!

Basil started looking all around the Arena and finally spotted something missing…the Underworld Freedom Token was missing. He looked closer and saw a small green talon put a similar looking Token on the pedestal where the token was sitting. Then he saw the armor vanish for a moment then reappear.

"Wall-e, I fear that there is some underhanded skullduggery at work here! Quick, to the prize area!" Basil said as Wall-e rolled down towards the prize area with Basil on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, the Hydra, now with thirty heads, was dead after Angeal, Cloud, and Zack each pulled off a triple slash to the beast's chest.

"OHHHH and its lights out for the Hydra…Let's take a look at the rankings." Hermes said as a scoreboard above the prize area displayed the stats.

Team Midgar and Team Destiny were now tied in the team rankings with two team matches won apiece.

Team Gullwing had only one team match under their belts.

The next round was short…It was Sephiroth against a small swarm of beasts which fell quickly at the silver haired warrior's hands.

Now it was the ninth round it was Team Gullwing against Cerberus.

As they continued battling Wall-e and Basil reached the prize area.

"Could you give me a boost my friend?" Basil asked as Wall-e lifted the mouse detective up onto the pedestal where the token sat. He whipped out his magnifying glass and examined the token closely.  
After a moment he pocketed the magnifying glass and pulled out a pair of tweezers. He proceeded to pluck a small speck of gold dust from the beneath the token and put it in a small test tube in his pocket.

"Alright old chap…" Basil whispered as he stepped onto the robot's claw, "Let's head over to the armor."

Yuna fired a few powerful blast from her handguns at Cerberus's center head as Paine and Rikku came down hard on the other two heads knocking the beast out and winning the match.

Then next round was a free for all disqualifying match. One member of each team would be selected by their team mates and meet the other single competitors in the arena and fight until the bell rang. The first two knocked out of the square would be disqualified and forbidden to continue competing for the rest of the tournament.

It was Ven, Angeal, Auron, Vincent, Sephiroth, Irvine, Hercules, and Rikku in the arena and the fight began.

As they fought Basil and Wall-e were examining the armor.

"This armor is very odd…and from what I recall of ancient Cetra armor in the legends …they don't even scratch easily." Basil said as he examined a leg on the armor. He then noticed small flecks of gold-like dust on the ground beneath it. Basil quickly pocketed it and headed back to Wall-e.

"Ok Wall-e…time to test out that chemistry set I set up within that chest cavity of yours." Basil said as Wall-e opened his front panel revealing a wooden box inside that looked like a small eighteenth century home complete with chemistry set. Basil had deactivated Wall-e's trash compactor for safety sake, not that he didn't trust the robot, but just so he didn't compact his home accidently.

Basil walked inside and turned on a light as Wall-e shut the panel and rolled away from the prize area. Basil in the meantime started examining the two small flecks of gold-like dust he had collected.

Outside the two disqualified were Rikku and Irvine due to getting flung out of the ring…both by Sephiroth.

Now it was the tenth round and it was a versus match…between Sephiroth and Cloud.

"I've been looking forward to fighting you again Cloud." Sephiroth said as Cloud snarled.

"I've been looking forward to destroying **you**!!" Cloud said as the two started battling it out against each other.

Meanwhile inside of Wall-e, Basil was perplexed to discover that both of the gold-like dust was truthfully…

"Sulfur? How did they become made of sulfur?" Basil said as he sat down in a chair and moved to light his pipe but paused before he lit it and examined the flame on the match.

"Of course...that's IT!" he said as he realized what had happened.

Outside Sephiroth and Cloud were still fighting and they were coming very close to landing out of the ring. Suddenly Sephiroth swung with a savage blow that knocked Cloud flat on his back atop the ring boundaries. His head was on the sand while the rest was in the arena. The crowd held their breath as the three judges huddled. Finally they broke the huddle.

"For it to be a true disqualification…" Poseidon said as he stood up, "…his entire body has to be outside of the ring."

The crowd cheered as Hades jumped up angrily.

"Hold it one minute!" He yelled as the crowd groaned.

"I QUITE AGREE!!" a British voice yelled as everyone turned to see Basil atop the judges desk.

"What is going on here?!" Athena asked as the crowd arched an eyebrow at Basil.

"I have evidence of a nefarious crime having been committed during this very tournament!" Basil replied as Hades appeared in front of the judges table.

"Now look cheese breath I'm not gonna-""Hades!" Zeus bellowed as Hades looked up at the thunder god.

"Let the mouse talk. Now what sort of crime are you talking about?" Zeus asked.

"Quite elementary my dear immortal…" Basil said as he pointed at the prize area, "…Theft!"

The crowd was confused.

"What sort of theft…are we talking about cheating?" Zeus asked as Basil shook his head.

"Not so good sir, I am referring to the theft of the grand prizes!!" Basil declared as everyone looked over towards the prize area then back at Basil with an arched eyebrow.

"Has he gone mad?" Ven asked as Aqua shrugged.

"What are you talking about?" Zeus asked, "The prizes are still there."

"Your eminence…if you will grant me but a brief moment I shall prove that they are indeed stolen." Basil said as Zeus shrugged and motioned to carry on.

"Miss Aerith will you answer me this? Is it possible to so much as scratch Cetra armor?" Basil asked.

"Well not easily, no." Aerith replied.

"More specifically could you scratch it with say, a hammer and nail?" Basil asked as Aerith shook her head.

"No way…it would have to be a huge hammer and nail with very strong magical properties." Aerith replied.

"I can assume that everyone heard that?" Basil asked as Hades pulled a piece of rock from his ear.

"Sorry I had a bit of brimstone in my ear…what was that?" he asked as Basil gave him a knowing smirk.

"Anyway…" Basil said as he leapt onto Wall-e's head and rolled over to the armor, "…you have just heard that it would take much force to scratch a suit of Cetra armor…now I am going to prove to you that this armor here is fake!"

Basil then pulled out a small hammer and nail. He positioned the nail against the leg of the armor and proceeded to hit the nail as hard as he could. With one swing the entire suit of armor crumbled into dust as the crowd gasped.

"It IS a fake!" Aqua shouted.

"As is the Underworld Freedom Token!" Basil said as he did the same to the token causing it to crumble as well.

Dark clouds instantly started gathering overhead…the reason for that was simple…Zeus. Was. Ticked.

"Who's behind this?!" Zeus bellowed as thunder and lightning cracked overhead.

"If you will permit me I shall reveal the culprit!" Basil replied as he picked up a crumb of the powdered coin.

"Upon careful examination I have determined that the material the false items are made of is none other than sulfur! And the only one of us who has the most sulfur available to them…is none other than the Lord of the Dead himself! Hades is the thief!" Basil said as Hades crossed his arms.

"Prove it squeaky!" Hades growled.

"You yourself said a moment ago that you had brimstone in your ear…brimstone is another name for sulfur and furthermore you were the only one who had the most to lose should anyone win the token and even more to lose should the knights win the armor! You Hades are a criminal!" Basil declared as Zeus turned angrily towards Hades.

"Hades…you're BEHIND **THIS**?!" Zeus growled as the other gods grabbed Hades.

"Hey the rat's making it up!" Hades argued as Aerith realized something.

"No Basil's right…when combined, all three suits of armor can summon the vast powers of Kingdom Hearts itself, even going so far as to revive the dead!" Aerith explained as there was a loud rattle and everyone turned to see Pain and Panic pinned underneath the real armor.

"**HADES!!"** Zeus yelled amidst a loud thunder clap.

"For this crime your little arena in the underworld is hereby sealed for all eternity!" Zeus declared as Hades paled.

"No not the Underdrome?!" Hades begged.

"Take him back to the underworld!!" Zeus ordered as the two guards and Hades vanished in a puff of smoke and the clouds parted.

"In light of these events the tournament is canceled." Zeus said as Sephiroth smirked and was about to move to cut down Cloud but had a lightning bolt pointed at his chin before he could.

"You don't think you can take on a god do you?" Zeus asked as Sephiroth humphed and vanished in a blue beam of light.

"So what about the prizes?" Terra asked as Zeus smiled.

"Terra my boy I'm giving Ven the armor as a token of my appreciation for helping to prevent a disaster." Zeus said as something occurred to Angeal.

"Wait a moment…where is the Token?" Angeal asked as everyone looked around.

"I'm afraid Sephiroth ran off with it…I saw him pocket it after Pain and Panic reviled the location of the armor." Basil said mournfully.

"Can't we just get another one?" Terra asked hopefully as Zeus shook his head.

"No I'm afraid not." Zeus said sadly as Terra's heart sank, "Only one can exist at a time…I can't make another one while the original still exists."

"So that means…" Terra said as he looked at Rikka and Aeris mournfully.

"Yes Terra…they cannot leave this world." Zeus said.

"Can…can I have some time alone with them first?" Terra asked.

"They remain until you leave Terra." Zeus replied as Vincent pulled out his cell phone.

"Cid…bring her around for a landing…we're going to be here for a while." Vincent said as Cid replied with an enthusiastic…

"_Ten-four!!"_

Zeus then noticed Cloud admiring the First Tsurugi.

"Cloud my boy if you want that sword it's yours…Hephaestus has about twelve of those." Zeus said as he clapped Cloud on the back.

"Thank you sir…but I won't be using it right away though." Cloud said as he wrapped the sword in bandages like his Buster Sword.

* * *

**Later…**

Terra and Rikka were, "busy" in his room as Aeris, Angeal, Cloud, and Zack all sat within the mess hall.

"Zack I never would have thought you would make SOLDIER first class so quickly." Aeris said as she held Zack close to her.

"I never thought I would either." Zack replied.

"Of course I never thought that I would get to meet Angeal Hewley either." Aeris said as she looked dreamily at Angeal.

"I uh…never thought I would meet the mother of one of my best pupils." Angeal replied nervously.

"What say that we live a little before we die again?" she asked as Angeal shrugged with a smile as Aeris dragged him off to a secluded area.

Zack was dumbfounded at the events that just transpired.

"Zack?" Cloud asked the frozen SOLDIER, "Zack?!"

"What…the…hell…just happened?" Zack asked.

"In a nutshell…" Aqua said from the doorway, "…your dead mom's bonking your dead hero and mentor."

Zack wouldn't be the same after that moment.

* * *

**The next morning…**

Everyone was saying their goodbyes to their friends and loved ones before departing.

"I'll still miss the times we were together." Terra said as Rikka nodded.

"I know…I will too." She replied.

"But hey if you meet some cute guy in the underworld, you are technically a widow." Terra said though he was kicking himself in the head for saying it.

"Don't even say that Terra…I love you even in death…I just hope that maybe someday you'll get that armor and you and your friends will revive myself, Aeris, Angeal, Auron, all of us…and then we can all live together as a family." Rikka replied as a tear ran down Terra's cheek with a smile on his face.

"You know…we never got the chance to say goodbye the first time." Terra said as Rikka shook her head.

"No…it's not goodbye…it's 'see you later." Rikka said as they kissed for a while.

"Now Zack I know I never got a chance to say this but…I am so proud of you." Aeris said as Zack started to cry.

"I don't want you to go mom…not again." Zack said as Aeris sighed.

"I know son…but like your uncle never had a chance to say goodbye to Rikka…you never had a chance to say goodbye to me…but now's your chance…you need to move on…live for tomorrow…" Aeris said as Zack finished…

"…Because you never know what tomorrow brings…I remember dad told me that…Wait a minute…" Zack said as he realized…

"Where is dad?!" Zack asked.

"He never died…he's still alive for all I can figure." Aeris replied.

"Whoa…but where could he be?!" Zack wondered.

"Well I'm sure if anyone can find him…it's his son." Aeris replied with a smile.

"I won't let you down mom…It's a promise." Zack replied.

"You know you two are better fighters than I thought…" Paine said to Yuna and Rikku, "…perhaps someday when this is over you should consider joining the ENG so we can work together."

"Yeah…we do make a great team don't we Yunie?" Rikku asked as Yuna nodded.

"Yep, I'm not above working together as the Gullwings again." Yuna replied.

"Good…then I hope we see each other again." Paine said as she headed towards her and Zack's gummy ship.

"Ok boys and girls…and all those in between…" Cid said as he emerged from the gummy ship, "We are good to go!"

"Well I guess that means we have to go now." Terra said as he and Rikka embraced in one last deep kiss before finally turning and heading up the ramp.

"I will come back and free you mom." Zack said as he and Aeris hugged and she kissed him on the head.

"Be safe…and Protect your Honor, Always." Angeal said as he and Zack hugged.

"I'll hold on to the buster sword till I feel I'm ready." Zack replied.

"That day won't be far away…that I promise you." Angeal said as Zack nodded and walked off for his and Paine's gummy ship.

"We'll miss you Auron…and we will never forget you." Yuna said as she and Rikku group hugged the Guardian.

"It was an honor guarding you Yuna…I pray that you remain safe…and I feel we shall meet again." Auron said as the two women nodded and turned to the gummy ship.

"Goodbye everyone!!" Ven yelled from the gummy ship as the Mortals, undead, and immortals on the ground waved back as the gummy ship ramp closed and both gummy ships roared into space.

"You really think we'll see them again?" Aeris asked.

"Undoubtedly." Angeal replied.

"I would definitely like to meet my son someday." Rikka said.

"You will…" Auron replied as the four started fading, "…you will."

* * *

**End Chapter 41.**


	42. The Light Amongst the Darkness

Within the Deepground Facility, "Sanzun" was stalking through the hallway towards Hojo's lab. As he entered he saw three large fluid filled tanks and what appeared to be three young infants floating inside. It was a cloning lab.

"Ah so the islander returns to mock the master eh?" Hojo asked as he noticed "Sanzun's" entrance.

"Don't press your luck professor…" Sanzun replied as he noticed something that didn't seem right to him with the infant in the center tank.

"What is wrong with the center subject…I thought it was supposed to be male?" Sanzun asked.

"Bah the accursed DNA was one chromosome short so we simply duplicated the X chromosome and made it female." Hojo replied as Sanzun glared at him.

"In English 'doctor" Sanzun asked impatiently.

"(Sigh) meaning that we didn't have enough DNA to make it a full blooded male…but since gender isn't an issue we just made it a woman." Hojo replied curtly.

"I see." Sanzun replied, "So when will they be ready?"

"They will be the equivalent of ten years old in five years…that's when they will be released and their training will commence." Hojo replied with an arched eyebrow.

"Why the sudden interest in my…experiments?" He asked curiously.

"Curiosity." Sanzun replied as he glared at the first tank with female infant floating inside with distinct red hair.

Then the white haired man from before entered the lab and Sanzun bowed in (False) reverence.

"Ah…Weiss (Pronounced - Vice), glad you decided to pay your old creator a visit." Hojo said as Weiss smirked sinisterly.

"Yes Professor…is Xehanort's pet bothering you?" Weiss asked.

"I've been cooped up on those islands too long…the realm of science interests me as my master has undoubtedly mentioned before." Sanzun replied.

"Then allow me to introduce you to the next generation of the Tsvitets." Weiss said as he turned to the tanks and pointed to the third tank holding a boy with white colored hair.

"Azul the Cerulean…" Then the center tank with a brown haired girl, "…Argento the Silver…" then finally the red haired girl, "…and finally…Rosso the Crimson."

"All of whom have been created from the blood samples you acquired for us." Weiss replied as Sanzun placed a hand on Rosso's tank.

"So…this one is technically…my daughter?" Sanzun asked as Weiss smirked and nodded.

"Yes…I would say her twin but…Rosso will be much older and far more deadly than the girl in the chamber down there." Weiss replied with a gruff laugh as Sanzun smirked.

"I suppose I shall pay them another visit." Sanzun said as he turned and left.

A few moments later the alarms started blaring and Sanzun ran to Weiss's chamber.

"The Knight and the girl have escaped!" he yelled as he entered the chamber.

"WHAT!!" Weiss yelled.

"How did this happen Sanzun?!" Xehanort growled.

"I am unsure of how…perhaps she found a way out of the virtual chamber…or someone let her out." Sanzun replied.

"Let HER **OUT?!**" Weiss growled as Sanzun cowered.

"Find her Sanzun…and unless she's with you don't you come back!" Xehanort ordered but as Sanzun turned to leave three familiar and injured teenagers entered.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Xehanort growled.

"There is a spy amongst us!" Kadaj said as Sanzun mentally started praying for his life.

"Who is the betrayer?" Weiss asked.

"No not a traitor…an infiltrator." Yazoo answered.

"Well then who IS IT!?" Xehanort asked.

"Cloud Strife snuck aboard Sanzun's gummy ship in Rocket Town before he left." Loz replied.

"Strife?! So he's the one who got her out…but how I wonder." Xehanort said as Sanzun realized he had a way to divert suspicion from himself.

"Is it possible that the Cetra armor contained knowledge of how to create portals?" Sanzun asked as Xehanort grumbled.

"That is a very likely possibility…it must have been implanted within her mind when the armor merged with her." Weiss added.

"Then we must try and stop them from acquiring the third and final suit of armor." Sanzun said as Xehanort had a sinister idea.

"Perhaps not…perhaps we have been going about this all wrong…perhaps we should wait and let them lead us to Kingdom Hearts…then we won't have any more use for them and can do away with them finally." Xehanort suggested as the Weiss had an even better plan.

"I think I have a better plan…rather than deplete Deepground's already limited numbers…what if I, along with our mutual friend, were to channel our dark energies to you, making you three times as powerful as you are now…and make you even more invincible when you find Kingdom Hearts." Weiss suggested as Xehanort smiled sinisterly.

"Yes…that would work." He said evilly before turning to Maleficent and Sanzun.

"You two…you're coming with me." He said as they came together and vanished in a black portal.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"So what are you gonna do about Kairi?" Ven asked as he held his sleeping goddaughter...Mickey had re-cast the sleeping spell on her.

"I guess the best thing for us to do is to keep her with us for now…besides it's not like she's gonna wake up at all." Aqua replied as she sat next to him while stroking Kairi's hair.

"I don't want to sound like the bad guy but…I don't really think that it's a good idea." Ven replied.

"Why not?" Aqua asked.

"Because it may be even more dangerous if she stayed with us then at Radiant Garden." Ven replied as Aqua sighed…Ven was right.

"Well…can we at least keep her with us until we finish with the last of the armor? I mean Aerith's already got the coordinates punched in the computer." Aqua asked as she took the sleeping red head into her arms.

"Well…I won't object but…some of the others might." Ven replied as Aqua gave him a death glare.

"They say a word and I'll flatten them like a pancake." Aqua said as she started rocking the little girl. Then on a nearby desk a small puff of black smoke appeared leaving a small note in its place.

"What is it?" she asked as Ven grabbed the letter.

"It's from Mune…he's giving us a warning." Ven said as he started to read aloud.

"_My dearest Aqua and her friends._

_I write this letter as a warning to you all that my master Xehanort is preparing a trap for you all once you have obtained the third armor set. He will follow you and confront you once you have located Kingdom Hearts. When this happens, two of his allies will begin to channel their dark powers to him and make him nigh-invincible. You must try and avoid a confrontation with him at all costs, otherwise it will end in disaster._

_Your ever obedient…_

_Mune._

_P.S. E femm ymfyoc muja oui Aqua."_

"Oh typical even he can speak Al Bhed." Aqua grumbled as Ven looked at her with a caring smirk.

"You don't even know what it means." He replied.

"No…what did he say?" She asked.

"He said and I quote, 'I will always love you Aqua." Ven said as Aqua looked stunned for a moment as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Be sure to have the others look at it…especially Basil…he may find some weird thing that will peak his interest." Aqua said as Ven chuckled and nodded.

"If there's anything you need from me…you know where to look." Ven said as he walked out leaving Aqua and Kairi alone.

Aqua looked at her precious child and started to hum a soft melody before starting to sing…

_"Come stop your crying  
It will be all right_  
_Just take my hand Hold it tight  
I will protect you  
from all around you_  
_I will be here  
Don't you cry"_

She sang as she took Kairi's hand, and Kairi unknowingly grabbed her mother's hand...

_"__For one so small,_  
_you seem so strong  
My arms will hold you,  
keep you safe and warm  
This bond between us  
Can't be broken  
I will be here  
Don't you cry"_

She then stood up and walked over towards the window as space rushed past them…

_"'Cause you'll be in my Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more"_

_"And you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more."_

_"Don't listen to them  
'Cause what do they know  
We need each other,  
to have, to hold  
They'll see in time  
I know."_

She then placed Kairi on the bed and tucked her in…

_"When destiny callsyou  
You must be strong  
I may not be with you  
But you've got to hold on  
They'll see in time  
I know  
We'll show them together."_

_"'Cause you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on,  
Now and forever more."_

_"Oh, you'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be in my heart, always  
Always"_

As she sang the last note Aqua leaned forward and kissed Kairi on the forehead with a tear. She then stood up and walked out the door while watching her.

"Wow…" Ven said as he leaned against the wall.

"H-how long have you been standing there?" she asked as she dried her tears.

"Does it matter?" Ven asked as Aqua shook her head and started crying. Ven quickly put his arms around the sobbing woman.

* * *

**Later…**

The Gummy Ship dropped out of hyperspace in orbit over a world with a large castle.

"So who's going and who's staying?" Rikku asked.

"I would like to point out first that the castle down there is privately owned by someone and he is notorious for being a beast to anyone and everyone who comes to him." Terra said as the others shrugged.

"Perhaps we should appeal to his sense of greed?" Ven suggested.

"Oh sure…where would you propose that we get enough munny to buy him off?" Terra asked as Ven turned towards Wall-e.

"Wall-e what did you do with the treasure you took from Treasure Planet?" Ven asked as Wall-e rolled towards a small panel under the seats on the bridge and removed it. He then reached in and pulled out a large sack that jingled with every move.

"Does that answer your question?" Ven asked as Basil examined one of the coins.

"My word…this is a veritable king's ransom!" Basil exclaimed as he realized that the gold was genuine.

"I have got to learn to think before I speak." Terra said to himself as Aqua giggled.

"Don't worry rocky...you'll learn…eventually." She said as she ruffled his hair.

"I see you're back to your old self." Terra muttered.

"(Ahem) back to my original question…whose going and who's staying?" Rikku asked.

"Well obviously Ven, Terra, and myself." Aqua said as Terra cleared his throat.

"I mean no disrespect towards those of the non-human variety but I think that it would be wise if it be a human only mission." Terra suggested as Basil nodded in agreement.

"I quite agree old fellow…they would not take too kindly to a mouse being present within a castle." Basil said as the group nodded.

"Well then which of us humans are going?" Rikku asked.

"Irvine what about you?" Terra asked.

"Me?" he replied.

"Yeah, you look intimidating enough." Terra replied as Irvine smirked.

"Ok…I'm in." he said as Yuna raised he hand.

"Can I go?" she asked.

"You have to ask?" Ven asked back as she shrugged.

"I don't suppose I could go?" Cloud asked as they looked at each other.

"I dunno…maybe you could help by saying we're here on SOLDIER business." Aqua suggested.

"I won't lie…but I can be intimidating." Cloud replied as Aqua shrugged.

"Ok your in." she said as he nodded.

"I'm going…there may be some Cetra clues hidden somewhere." Aerith said as Terra nodded.

"Is that it then?" Cid asked as Terra sighed.

"I guess so." He said as he turned to Mickey and nodded.

"Good luck." Rikku said as Mickey twirled his hand and they vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

**End Chapter 42.**

The lullaby Aqua sang to Kairi was "You'll be in my Heart" by Phil Collins from Tarzan. None of which I own.

Also my friend has another question.

Question: "What is Cloud wearing…You never mentioned what he's wearing since that whole Sephiroth incident."

Answer: He's in a black variation of the SOLDIER uniform except with sleeves on both arms…sort of like his Advent Children's appearance…complete with the silver lion's head on his left shoulder armor.


	43. The Awakening

Our heroes appeared in a bright light on a bridge outside of a majestic castle.

"Wow…would ya look at this place?" Aqua asked as they saw the castle.

"Well I'll give whoever lives here one thing…he's got taste?" Ven said as they approached.

"Yeah but we gotta remember he's not that kind from what I've heard." Terra added with the sack of gold over his shoulder.

They finally reached the doors and knocked hard on it.

Finally the door opened revealing a man with white hair in a curl with fancy yellow Victorian era clothing.

"Bonjour my friends welcome." The man said happily.

"Ah, ah, not so fast Lumiere!" a voice said as a rather plump man with a thin black mustache in brown clothing appeared at the door.

"You know how the master feels about uninvited guests." The man said as Lumiere scoffed.

"Sacre Bleu Cogsworth, we cannot turn away every single guest." He replied as a third younger voice was heard from the back.

"LUMIERE!!" the voice bellowed.

"Y-yes master?" Lumiere asked as a young man with long blond hair in a plain white shirt and black pants appeared at the door.

"Who are these people?" the man asked.

"I-I-I don't know master." Lumiere replied.

"Well then get rid of them." The man replied coarsely and Lumiere quickly started to close the door

"Um excuse me!!" Terra said as he wedged his Keyblade between the doors.

"We have something for you if you'll let us in!" Terra said as he heard the younger man growl inside.

"Like what?" he asked as Aqua got one of the gold coins from the bag and tossed it through the door.

After a moment the door opened.

"Ok…you have my attention." The man said holding the coin.

"Thank you…we're looking for a particular set of armor that we hear is somewhere within this castle." Terra explained.

"We have several dozen suits of armor…be more specific." The man replied with a groan.

"Well if you would let us in to look for it we can show you." Terra said as the man shook his head.

"No." he replied.

"We have more gold." Aqua added as the man rolled his eyes and moved out of the way allowing them in.

"So where do you keep all of the suits of armor?" Terra asked.

"Lumiere, Cogsworth…show them all the places the armor is stored and then get them out of here and fast…and I don't want to be disturbed any further." The man said as he stormed up the stairs.

"Sheesh who put the snake venom in his tea this morning?" Irvine asked as the man vanished.

"You'll have to forgive the master; he doesn't like visitors unless they have something of use to him." Cogsworth explained.

"Yeah but that's no reason to get snotty." Aqua replied.

"Well we better show you where we keep the armor…this way." Lumiere said as he led them up the same stairs the man had walked up a moment ago.

"I don't suppose you have any large stone boxes that no one can open do you?" Ven asked as Aqua nodded.

"Good question." She replied.

"Well it's funny you should mention that…" Lumiere said as Cogsworth clamped the man's mouth shut.

"Lumiere that is in the forbidden wing of the castle…that's in the west wing!" he grumbled.

"So? They should be allowed to search the castle for the armor you overgrown pocket watch." Lumiere replied.

"But they're here for armor not a box you candlestick!" Cogsworth argued as Ven broke up the fight.

"Cool it both of you…the armor is probably in that box." He said as Cogsworth sighed.

"Well why didn't you say so…follow me." Cogsworth replied as he led them through to a staircase and into a long hallway lined with suits of armor.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me?" Aqua asked as she saw the armor along the walls.

"Hmm? No this isn't it…it's kept in the dungeon." Cogsworth replied as he led them down the hallway to a door along the wall.

"This way." He said as he opened the door revealing a cold and damp room with a large familiar block of stone against one wall. As Terra entered the room his Keyblade summoned itself and started glowing a bright red as he moved in further.

"There's our box…Terra I think this is yours." Aerith said as Terra nodded and moved over to the box revealing the keyhole on the lid and inserted the Keyblade into the keyhole. As he turned it clockwise the lid vanished in a reddish burst of light with the Keyblade.

Within laid a suit of gold, red, and black armor which then started to magically disappear and reappear on Terra one piece at a time.

"Sacre Bleu!" Lumiere said after the spectacle.

Suddenly in a flash Ven and Aqua's armor appeared on them and they vanished in a flash of light.

"What the…VEN, TERRA, AQUA!!" Yuna shouted but all that greeted her was silence.

* * *

_"You…have been chosen."_

"Huh? Who's there?" Terra asked.

Wherever they were it was pitch black.

"Terra that you?" Ven's voice called back.

"Ven, Terra I can hear your voice but I can't S-YEOW…that's my foot!" Aqua shouted.

"Oh sorry Aqua." Ven replied.

"_You are fearless and pure!"_

"Seriously who's there?!" Terra asked.

"_The time of the great awakening has come."_

"I'm really not liking this darkness Ven." Aqua said with a quiver in her voice.

"Oh no, not this fear of the dark thing again?" Ven groaned.

"_The Hearts are returning…it is now time to reveal it."_

"Will you come out already?!" Ven yelled.

Suddenly there was a single beam of light on the floor and what seemed like a flock of birds began flying off revealing a glowing stained glass image of Ven's armor holding his Keyblade. They were all in their armor too.

"Oh thank goodness we can see again." Aqua said as they looked around.

"_The time of darkness is near…you must prevent its conquest."_

"I'm getting kinda tired of this mysterious voice bit." Aqua remarked as the other two nodded.

"_Follow the light amidst the darkness…hunt down the shadows where they lie…and find the strength to continue afterwards."_

Then a door appeared at one end of the towering structure.

"_Before you lies the door…do you fear what lies beyond…or do you embrace it head on?" _

"I think it's a test…but let's see what lies on the other side." Ven said as they walked towards the door and opened it. As it opened they were enveloped in a bright light. As it faded they found themselves on another tower only the stained glass image was of Terra's armor and Keyblade.

"This is getting weird." Terra said as they emerged.

"_You have made many sacrifices on this journey…and there will be more to come…"_

"Oh great…the voice is still here." Ven groaned.

"…_your time of life is nearly over…ten years of silence shall follow…followed by a return to your current state."_

"I wish I knew what this was talking about." Terra said with a worried expression.

"_You have sown the seeds of the next generation…they shall follow in your footsteps…one shall fall to the darkness but be redeemed…one shall be of purest light but be taken by the darkness…and one…one shall become his generation's master of the Keyblades…to protect and defend throughout the days of his life with the other two at his side."_

"Now I really want to know what it means…Is it talking about our kids?" Aqua asked.

Then another door appeared at the edge again.

"_Through this door lies the final test before you can claim the final clue."_

"Well…what have we to lose?" Terra asked as they walked to the door and opened it. They were bathed in the bright light again as this time they stood atop a stained glass image of Aqua's armor and Keyblade.

"So…where's this challenge?" Ven asked as three small portals of light appeared and three figures emerged.

The first was a boy about fifteen years old, with spiky brown hair. He was wearing a black jacket, baggy black pants and yellow shoes. But one thing that made Ven pail was the silver crown necklace around his neck.

"No…it can't be?" Ven said.

The second boy looked a year older and was wearing a black tank top underneath a white and yellow jacket with a pair of purplish blue jeans and white and black sneakers. But what shocked Terra the most was the boy's white hair.

"How is this possible?" Terra asked.

The third figure was a red haired girl in a white dress with a pink leather dress over it and wearing pink sneakers. But around her neck was a certain star shaped lucky charm.

"It…it is them!" Aqua said as they realized that they were looking at older versions of their own children. It was Sora, Riku, and Kairi. (A/N: in their KH2 appearances)

"They can't honestly expect us to fight them do they?" Aqua asked as the three teenagers in unison stretched out their right arms and in a flash of light a Keyblade appeared in their hands. (A/N: Sora – Kingdom Key, Riku – Way To Dawn, Kairi – the flower one that Riku gives her in KH2)

"I was hoping not." Ven replied with a look of anguish at the thought as the three teens adopted a fighting stance. Terra and Riku's fighting stances were the only ones that were different.

"_Now is the hardest challenge of all…"_

The three teens in unison then charged at them but Ven quickly realized what to do and dropped his Keyblade. As Sora started to swing at him the teen vanished like a cloud of smoke.

Terra and Aqua noticing this, threw away their weapons too, causing Riku and Kairi to vanish as well.

"…_surrendering to the will of your hearts."_

The Keyblades returned to their owner's hands as another door appeared.

"Let's end this." Aqua said as they approached the door and opened it. This time as the light faded they found themselves atop a stained glass image of a heart shaped moon. As they looked around they noticed a familiar looking castle in the distance.

"Hey…is that Radiant Garden?" Ven asked.

"Yeah it is…and look, there's the canyon where the gummy ship lands…we're on that empty mesa at the end of the canyon." Terra replied.

"It never vanished…" Aqua said as the other two turned to see what she was looking at, "…it was just beyond our sight."

They turned and saw in the sky above the same heart shaped moon as depicted upon the stained glass mural beneath them.

"Is that…is that it?" Ven asked.

"That's it…Kingdom Hearts." Terra replied.

"So…how do we get to it?" Aqua asked as Ven looked down slightly to see a small boulder shaped like his crown necklace with a small keyhole in the center.

"I think the answer is right in front of us." He said as the other two noticed the keyhole.

"So that's it then…our duty will soon be done and we can go home to our families." Ven said as Terra cleared his throat.

"Uh I don't have a home anymore Ven…remember?" Terra replied.

"So you can probably find a place on the Islands with us…come on whaddya say Terra?" Aqua asked hopefully.

"Ok I'll do that…now the question is…how do we get out of here." Terra asked as Kingdom Hearts started to glow and they then vanished in a bright light.

* * *

**Back at the castle…**

"Come on guys, where are you?" Yuna pleaded into the empty air of the dungeon.

"I hope that 'Mr. Happy' doesn't come back." Irvine said.

"If he does I may want to borrow that gun of yours…if anything to put him out of our misery." Cloud replied.

"Easy Cloud, let's not be quick to anger." Aerith said as she felt a familiar presence nearby.

"I hope the guy gets what he deserves for being such a…a….a beast." Yuna said as Aerith motioned to be quiet and after a moment in a flash of bright light the three knights reappeared.

"Where have you been?!" Irvine asked.

"I wish I knew…but one thing is certain." Ven replied.

"We know how to get to Kingdom Hearts." Terra added.

"Y-you do?!" Aerith asked excitedly.

"Yep…now let's go before Mr. Greedy Guts comes back." Aqua said as they headed out towards the door.

It was starting to blizzard as they walked out the front doors, narrowly avoiding the master of the castle in the process. Then they spotted an old woman in tattered old robes walking up towards the door carrying a single red rose.

"Can we help you madam?" Ven asked as they spotted her.

"You are not the master of this castle good knight…I must seek the master of the castle." She said as she walked past against the wind and snow.

"How did…how did she know?" Ven asked as they continued walking. But then Ven stopped as he spotted Terra and Aerith standing in the middle of the courtyard watching the old woman climb the steps to the door.

They turned and watched as she knocked on the door and the master answered.

"Please sir, except this rose in exchange for shelter from the bitter cold." She asked as the master sneered.

"A rose? What do I need a rose for?" he asked rudely.

"Can I beat the crap out of him now?" Aqua asked as Terra motioned to wait.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…this is your last chance." She begged as the master scoffed.

"I don't need a rose…get out of here you old hag." He said as he slammed the door.

"Oh that is it…" Aqua said as she was about to start charging the door but Terra held her back.

"Wait…watch." He said as she noticed the rose in the woman's hand start to glow a bright red and in a flash of light the old woman was replaced by…

"VERA?!" they all exclaimed.

It was Vera except she was glowing a bright green. The doors to the castle burst open startling the master who fell on his back in fear.

"_You have been deceived by your own cold heart…" _She said to the master as the castle started changing into a darker version, with all the angel shaped sculptures along the castle walls turning into hideous gargoyles.

"…_a curse upon your house and all within it." _She continued as before their eyes the master was transformed into a hideous brown haired, black horned beast.

"_Until you have found someone to love you as you are, you shall remain forever a beast." _She said as they noticed all throughout the castle people becoming various household items. The beast then roared in anguish at his hideous form and slammed the doors as Vera dropped the rose within.

She then turned towards the Knights who stood in awe of her appearance.

"_Now you know the truth…go forth and fulfill your destiny." _She said as in a bright flash they were all back on the gummy ship.

"Whoa! Where did you guys come from?" Cid asked.

"No time to explain set a course for Radiant Garden and fast!" Ven ordered.

"Yes sir!" Cid exclaimed as he turned back to the controls.

"You know where it is?" Mickey asked eagerly.

"Yep…and we have to get there before Xehanort does." Terra replied.

"That's not gonna happen." Vincent said as he entered the bridge with a look of fear on his face.

"Huh?" Aqua asked.

"I just got a call from Verdot…Radiant Garden is under attack." Vincent replied as everyone's faces flashed with dread and the Gummy ship lurched into hyperspace.

* * *

**End Chapter 43**

The end of this story is near.


	44. The Battle of Radiant Garden

Vincent wasn't whistling Dixie when he said that Radiant Garden was under attack. The entire city was in absolute chaos.

Out of nowhere an army of black armored soldiers, the brainwashed, calamity infused soldiers under Xehanort's control had appeared and was wreaking havoc on the city. (A/N: just to clarify these soldiers are not Deepground soldiers but Xehanort's private army)

Maleficent was serving as their general as Xehanort watched gleefully from the sidelines.

"Sanzun I have a special mission for you." Xehanort said to his apprentice.

"Yes my lord?" Sanzun asked.

"I want you to go into the city and retrieve the children of the Kingdom Knights…they shall serve as the perfect bait to lure the knights." Xehanort ordered as Sanzun bowed and vanished in a black portal.

However he did not do as instructed…

Instead he portaled into the medical ward disguised as an ordinary doctor and slipped into Lulu's room.

"Sanzun!!" Lulu growled as Mune quickly defended himself from a blast of Blizzaga.

"Lulu it's me, it's me!!" he yelled as he turned to Lulu and removed the yellow contact lenses to disguise his eye color.

"By the Farplane…It is you!" Lulu said as she realized he was telling the truth.

"Yes I know, but I need to get you and the kids out of here now." He said hurriedly, "…where's Kairi?"

"She and Aqua never came back…though I heard that they're safe with Ven and the others." She replied.

"Ok I can get her back to the islands when they get here…but in the meantime." He said as he opened a black portal.

"Take the kids and go…I cannot let you fall into Xehanort's hands." Mune said as Lulu took Sora and Riku into her arms and ran towards the portal but turned before entering.

"Thank you Mune." She said as she passed through the portal.

Mune breathed a sigh of relief and banished the portal before vanishing in a portal himself.

"Master Xehanort…" he said as he appeared back at his master's side, "…the children are not there, they're gone."

"How can this be, they were here, I could sense them!" Xehanort growled as he scratched his head.

"Perhaps your old master has found a way to fool your senses." Sanzun replied.

"Perhaps so but…" Xehanort said as he turned to Sanzun and paused, something was wrong about him, and then it hit him.

"Sanzun…why are your eyes not yellow anymore?" he asked knowingly.

"I'm not sure sir." Mune lied; he had forgotten to replace his yellow contacts.

"Oh I think I'm sure." Xehanort growled as he summoned a solid black Keyblade to his hand. (A solid black version of the Kingdom Key.)

"Master you cannot honestly believe that I have betrayed you?" Mune asked fearfully as Xehanort approached with an angry snarl on his face.

"Oh I believe that you have indeed…it was the girl wasn't it! WASN'T IT!!" he yelled as Mune backed up towards the rock face of the cliff ledge they were standing on.

"She got a hold of your heart and used her own to suppress the dark side of you that I favored and turned you into a mockery of everything that we Calamities stand for!!" Xehanort growled as Mune realized the jig was up and summoned his Keyblade.

"I'm not afraid of you Xehanort…you threatened my homeworld and my friends but you crossed the line when you threatened my family…you can threaten or curse my name as many times as you damn well please but you cannot threaten the lives of my family!" Mune replied as they slowly circled each other.

"Look at what I've made you Sanzun…I took the dark flicker within your heart and made it into a powerful warrior…it churns my stomach to know that you can turn on me so easily in the name of the light!" Xehanort growled as Mune lunged forward and their Keyblades came together with a loud clang.

"My name is no longer Sanzun…my name…my true name…is Mune…loving husband of Aqua…and caring father of **KAIRI**!" Mune yelled as they started battling across the moon lit canyon.

"I'll be sure to put that on your headstone…Mune!" Xehanort yelled back.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The gummy ship dropped out of hyperspace and into Radiant Garden.

"Beam us down Mickey!!" Ven said as they all congregated in the cargo hold (sans Cid) and vanished to the city below in a flash of light.

"Everyone spread out and take-em as you see em!!" Terra yelled as Irvine spotted something in the sky.

"Looks like the Cavalry's here!!" Irvine yelled as everyone looked up to see a fleet of Rocket Town and Midgar Gummy Warships drop out of hyperspace.

Suddenly an army of ENG soldiers, Rocket Town natives, and Eddie Valentine's gangsters appeared in all over the city with the Rocket Town natives singing courageously…

"_Hearts ablaze  
Banners high  
We go marching into battle  
Unafraid although the danger just increased  
Raise the flag!  
Sing the song!  
Here we come, we're a thousand strong  
And a thousand soldiers can't be wrong  
Let's kill the Beasts!"_

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT BOYS!!" Irvine shouted as he joined his Rocket Town brethren in battle.

"FOR MIDGAR!!" a young voice yelled and sure enough Zack flew through the air with his sword prepped as he quickly cut down two Calamity troops from harming a small red haired native girl.

"You ok?" he asked the girl who nodded.

"I'm fine…I'm Cissnei." She said as Zack nodded.

"Zack Fair nice to meet ya…now get somewhere safe." He ordered as he quickly cut down two more Calamity troops!

"Zack, nice of you to make it." Terra said as they prepped their weapons.

"Nice to finally get to fight alongside you Uncle Terra!" Zack replied as the two started cutting down Calamity melee troops left and right in piles.

Cloud was about to join in when he saw a familiar strand of silver hair. He looked up and saw Sephiroth glaring straight at him.

"Sephiroth!!" He yelled as he leapt into the air towards his foe. Sephiroth did the same thing and they both started battling it out.

Then in mid-swing a familiar crimson blade clashed in between theirs. They turned to see Genesis had joined the battle.

Ven, Aqua, Vincent, Yuna, Rikku, Kimahri, Mickey, Aerith, Wall-e, and Basil were racing through the war torn city as fast as they could for the castle.

Then Yuna and Rikku spotted Paine battling Calamity troops on her own and broke off to help her.

In the meantime Terra and Zack were still battling Calamity troops when a familiar black and white steering wheel dropped down in front of them on a more advanced quadruped spider walker.

"_AUTO!" _The robot said as the grips on the wheel portion bent forward and the wheel started spinning rapidly and started firing off dark red laser bolts at the two who quickly hid behind a pile of rubble.

Terra then remembered his power over the land and slammed his fist into the ground causing a large pillar of stone to erupt from the ground behind AUTO and topple over on top of the robot.

Terra stood up to see the robot itself had escaped from the crushing blow and as trying to crawl itself away from the wreckage as Terra leapt into the air and brought his Keyblade down on the wheel's optic.

The pain in Terra's backside was now permanently offline.

"Deus Ex Machina AUTO…Deus Ex Machina." Terra said as he gave one more smash to the destroyed machine's frame.

"Glad that's over." Zack said as he emerged from the rubble.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Our heroes arrived to find the Castle postern littered in the bodies of dead Calamity troops and dead Turks…Verdot being one of them.

"Damn…who could have done this?" Vincent asked as he noticed Maleficent on one of the balconies.

"You go…I'll deal with the witch." Vincent said as he transformed into Chaos and flew after up after Maleficent who noticed him and vanished in a glowing green fireball. Vincent then flew off to try and find her.

The others then noticed more Calamity troops charging up after them.

"GO!!" the Turk Lionheart yelled as he charged out with his gunblade ready.

"I'll stay and help you Mr. Lionheart!" Mickey said as he turned and ran up next to the Turk.

"Call me Squall." The Turk replied as they started cutting down Calamity troops together.

"Kimahri SMASH CALAMITIES!!" Kimahri yelled as he readied his Lance and leapt into battle.

"Let's hurry!" Ven yelled as the rest started running for Ansem's study.

They finally made it inside to find Ansem, Yen Sid, Rufus and his four Turks, five men in lab coats, and Yuffie hiding inside. The four Turks almost shot them upon entry.

"Easy it's us!" Aqua shouted as they entered.

"Thank Minerva…we thought it was the enemy." Ansem said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah…Master Yen Sid, is our family safe?" Ven asked as the wizard nodded.

"Yes…I sensed Mune sent Lulu, Sora, and Riku back to the islands…I've been forced to end the sleeping spell too." He replied.

"Oh good." Ven said with a sigh of relief.

"Wait! Kairi's on the Fahrenheit…she could have woken up!" Aqua shouted as Yen Sid turned to Rufus.

"I want you and your Turks to get onboard the Fahrenheit and find a four year old red headed girl…you must not let anyone get a hold of her besides you and those whom you know are friends." Yen Sid ordered as Rufus nodded.

"Wait I'm going too and I'm not arguing about it!" Aqua said as Yen Sid nodded and with a wave of his hand she, Rufus, and the four Turks vanished in a blue light to the Fahrenheit.

"Which leaves the four of you." Ansem said as Basil stepped onto the desk.

"Basil of Baker Street ready to perform his patriotic duty sir!" Basil said with a salute.

"I admire your eagerness to help Basil but I don't think there's anything you can do to help us." Ansem said as Basil noticed a holographic map of the city displaying allied and enemy troop movements.

"Send your men here and here…they will create a choke hold and prevent enemy reinforcements to that area of the city." Basil said as Ansem realized the mouse was right.

"I resend the previous statement…you coordinate the troops Basil." Ansem said as Wall-e started bouncing up and down wanting something to do.

"Wall-e's laser has been modified to fire deadly laser beams…perhaps he can be of some use in a defensive roll?" Aerith suggested.

"Fine he can stay here with me and keep my scientists safe." Ansem said as he turned to one of the scientists.

"Mr. Bradley, is the city defensive network set up yet?" Ansem asked.

"I've uploaded the program and needs only your activation code." Alan replied as Ansem stood up and headed for the computer room.

Inside the factory floor the Fahrenheit flew inside long enough for Aqua, Kairi, Rufus and his Turks to emerge and head for the elevator before Cid flew out again.

Ansem quickly input his activation code and all across the city, small glowing spheres of energy started appearing and charging the Calamity troops before exploding.

"Bravo good show!" Basil shouted, "We have them on the run!"

"Its ok sweetheart, mommy's got you." Aqua said to a whimpering Kairi in her arms as she ran into the study.

Then Terra ran in.

"Any sign of Xehanort or Mune?" he asked as Basil pressed a zoom out button to the point that it showed the canyon all the way to the empty mesa. Two red blips appeared near the mesa and were moving rather erratically towards the Mesa.

"What are they doing?" Ven asked as Aqua realized what it was.

"They're fighting!" she yelled.

"I don't understand…of all the places to attack, why us?!" Ansem asked.

"Because this is where the route to Kingdom Hearts is." Ven answered.

"What? Here?" Ansem asked.

"Yes on that empty Mesa there." Terra replied.

"There is no time to lose…you must get to that Mesa and use Kingdom Hearts to destroy Xehanort and his ilk." Yen Sid commanded as a loud blast shook the castle. A globe from atop a book shelf was knocked off from the blast and fell right on top of Kairi's head.

"KAIRI!!" Aqua shouted as she realized Kairi was unconscious.

Yen Sid placed a hand to the girl's head for a moment.

"She has amnesia…she won't remember you or anything…but if she wakes up she will possibly believe that this is her homeworld." Yen Sid replied.

"How do you know?!" Aqua asked.

"I'm a wizard that's how." Yen Sid replied as Reno emerged from the computer room.

"We've got a small gummy ship large enough for the three of ya." He said as he entered and the three knights nodded to each other.

"It's time we finished this." Terra said as he summoned his Keyblade.

"Ditto." Aqua replied as her Keyblade met the tip of Terra's Keyblade.

"Double ditto." Ven added as he did the same. As they raised their Keyblades their armor appeared on them in a flash of light.

"Let's do this!" Aqua said eagerly as they headed out for the gummy ship called the _"Tiny Bronco."_

They quickly boarded the gummy ship and tore off out of the hanger.

Yen Sid in the meantime turned to Kairi and bound the amnesia lost memories to her lucky charm.

* * *

**End Chapter 44.**

GAH writters block...those vicious plot spider-bunnys have littered my head with their cobwebs and have given me writters block. I'll be trying to exterminate those cursed plot spider-bunnys and finish this story while you wait.

Please be patient...


	45. Love Lost & Sunset Horizons

The Tiny Bronco rocketed towards the canyon where Mune and Xehanort battled, and came to a landing on the empty mesa at the end where the path to Kingdom Heart's hiding place was hidden.

The knights leapt from the small gummy ship and ran to the edge of the mesa.

"What do we do?!" Aqua said to her fellow knights as they watched the two warriors of darkness fighting each other.

"I don't know what we can do…except." Ven said as he turned and saw the crown shaped stone with the keyhole lying on the ground behind them.

"You think it will help?" Terra asked.

"It's worth a try." Ven said as the three summoned their Keyblades and aimed them at the rock. The tips of their Keyblades each started to glow a different color; white for Ven, red for Terra, and blue for Aqua. A beam then shot out from the tips and hit the keyhole causing the rock to sink into the ground and after a moment a powerful beam of light appeared atop the mesa behind where the rock had sat.

Unfortunately when the beam appeared it appeared right on top of the Tiny Bronco, destroying it from its raw power.

"Well…there's definitely no going back now." Terra said as they turned back and saw that the two duelists had stopped and were staring in awe at the beam.

"After all these years of searching…" Xehanort said with awe and wonder, "…the passage way to Kingdom Hearts."

Mune then realized that he had an opportunity to put an end to Xehanort, with the latter distracted by the beam, and swung his Keyblade around to cut down the dark lord, but Xehanort was fully aware of what was going on around him and with a single strike, knocked the Keyblade from Mune's hand.

Aqua summoned her Keyblade and slid down the rock wall of the mesa as fast as she could with her companions right behind her.

Xehanort grabbed the loose Keyblade in his other hand, causing Mune to pale.

Aqua was halfway down the side as her heart began to race.

Xehanort knocked Mune to the ground and up against a rock.

Aqua reached the ground and started running towards them as fast as she could, with her heart still racing.

Xehanort reared Mune's Keyblade back causing Mune's eyes to widen in fear.

Aqua was getting closer but suddenly…

Xehanort plunged the Keyblade through Mune's chest.

Aqua stopped dead in her tracks as she watched in horror as she saw her husband mortally wounded.

Ven and Terra watched in shock as they saw Xehanort push the Keyblade deeper into his former apprentice.

"XEHANORT!!" the two shouted as their armor appeared on them and they charged for the dark lord who quickly pulled the Keyblade from Mune's chest to block their attacks. Then the dark lord and the two knights started battling their way towards the beam as Aqua ran to her dying husband's side

"Mune…MUNE!!" she shouted as she collapsed to her knees by his side.

"A-aqua." He whispered with as much strength as he could muster, "I…failed."

"No…no please Mune stay with me." She begged as she tried her best to keep him alive, but to no avail.

"Be s-sure…to t-tell Kairi…about me." Mune replied weakly as Aqua grasped his hand.

"You can tell her yourself…just hold on." Aqua pleaded as Mune lifted his other hand and placed it on her cheek.

"Never…forget your…past…I will…always…love you." Mune said as his eyes started closing. Aqua quickly pulled his chest to hers as she tried to use her heart's energy to keep him alive. Alas it was in vain as he breathed his last breath and his head slowly leaned back against the rock.

Aqua, in a panic, put her ear to his blood covered chest as she tried to hear a heartbeat. She listened for a while, gritting her teeth in panic as she heard not the sound of a heartbeat but the sound of thunder overhead.

As it started to rain, she lifted her head slowly off of her love's lifeless body with tears streaming down her face. She then noticed that her armor had appeared on her without the helmet. It's once shining blue, gold, and silver plating was now stained with red, as was her once bright blue hair on the side of her face.

She detached the blue cape on her back and placed it over his lifeless body mournfully. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look. She saw the glowing green goddess herself, Minerva, standing next to her.

"_Fear not, Aqua, Knight of the Sea, for you will one day be reunited with him…but for now we must let him rest…for the story has only just begun." _Minerva said as Aqua turned back to see that the cape was simply draped against the rock. She removed the bloodstained cape to see that Mune's body was gone, as if it had vanished into thin air.

Aqua lowered her head and clutched the cape against her chest as she wept.

She then looked up and noticed Vincent standing on a nearby ledge with a mournful look on his face. He then pulled back his cape, revealing that he was holding a slumbering Kairi. Aqua looked down towards the rock again as she watched the rain washing away the blood on her armor, the rock, and her cape. Then she looked back up and saw the beam of light.

"_Remember." _A familiar voice in the thunder said as she looked back at Kairi and in her heart she knew what she had to do. She narrowed her eyes and donned the cape as the helmet magically appeared on her head. She then summoned her Keyblade, climbed to her feet, and turned towards the Mesa where she could see her friends still locked in battle with Xehanort.

"This is for you my beloved ones." Aqua said as she ran towards the mesa at full speed, using the rain water to lift her into the air.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Ven and Terra were being relatively successful in keeping the dark lord away from the beam of light but they were starting to lose their ground.

"How long do you think we can keep this up?!" Ven asked Terra as they knocked Xehanort away for the umpteenth time.

"Depends on how determined you are!" Terra replied as he slammed his Keyblade into the ground, sending a wave of earth heading straight at the dark lord who simply slashed through it with the two Keyblades in his hand.

"You will not stop me from achieving that which is rightfully mine!!" Xehanort growled as he unleashed a powerful wave of dark energy which the two wouldn't have blocked in time where it not for Aqua's sudden arrival into the fray.

"Aqua! Is he?" Ven asked as Aqua lowered her head slightly as the other two could feel her pain emanating from her as if she were screaming inside.

"Enough of this!" Xehanort growled as he unleashed a sweeping blast of dark energy which knocked the three away from the pillar of light, giving him an opening.

Xehanort charged forward with a hungry look on his face as he passed through it.

"NO!! He's gotten through!!" Terra said as they climbed up onto their feet and ran towards the beam and leapt through mere seconds before it vanished.

From the city walls, with the battle in the city now over and won, our heroes' companions watched as the beam vanished.

"Do…do you think, we'll ever see them again?" Rikku asked as Vincent arrived with Kairi in his arms.

"I don't know Rikku…but I hope that we do someday in the future." Zack replied as Yen Sid could tell something was slightly amiss. Something, or more appropriately, someone was missing.

"Where is Mickey?" Yen Sid asked as they looked around then a sudden possible realization hit.

"You don't think that he could have…" Yuna started to ask as her sentence trailed off.

"I believe…he has." Aerith said as she folded her hands in prayer and the rain slowly came to an end.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

Terra opened his eyes, he was in a wide open and dust covered field. A soft wind was blowing, just enough to cause the sand to get kicked up a few feet into the air.

He summoned his Keyblade and looked around.

Around him were four fields of Keyblades embedded into the ground arranged in a square formation with a path between each of the fields leading inwards. Behind him lay the empty hulks of what looked like fallen structures.

He then heard the faint chinking of armor and turned his head to his right as he saw Aqua in her armor with her Keyblade in hand heading inward. He then looked to the left and saw Ven in his armor and with his Keyblade in hand as he headed inward.

He then looked straight forward as he saw three Keyblades embedded into the ground where the four paths converged. He started heading inwards himself and he reached the center first.

The Keyblade before him looked like Xehanort's Keyblade only with the same coloring as Ven's Keyblade.

The Keyblade to the right was the same as the other only with a silver handle and golden blade.

The Keyblade to the left was shaped like a dragon's wing with a feathered angel wing for the tooth.

As he walked he didn't notice the massive hulks behind him, dissolve into thin air.

He reached the center and pulled the gold handled one from the ground as Ven removed the dragon winged Keyblade and Aqua took the other.

Not a word was spoken between them as there was then a distant and echoing thud in the distance, and they all looked up to see a figure far off in the distance within the cloud of sand approaching their position.

They remained silent as they knew what approached them…and what would soon happen.

* * *

**End Chapter 45.**

I told you I'd be back soon…It's taken a while but I've finally found some time to shake the cobwebs loose.

I'm already working on Reunion II and I like how it's turning out so far.

Trust me…Reunion II will be the story that wraps up every loose end from all three of these stories and paves the way for a possible future.

Hold on to your hat's folks…it's going to be one wild ride.


	46. The Gathering

The Knights stood silently as they watched the figure approach. As expected it was Xehanort. But what wasn't expected was how his aura of darkness doubled without warning. How he did this, none of them knew, but either way they were going to have to stop him.

Within their minds they heard a voice tell them…

"_Here is where all magic is drawn from the heart…your armor alone won't protect you here…your skill and the strength of your heart is what you must rely on."_

They then silently discarded the three Keyblades that they had pulled from the ground.

As he came into view, a sinister smile on his face, he blurred slightly and a transparent image of him moved to his right and took the form of Sanzun's armor.

Ven lurched forward slightly before Terra grabbed him by the shoulder as he charged forwards.

The two dark warriors came to a stop. The Sanzun armor held its old Keyblade in its right hand as it silently watched Terra charging at them.

Then Terra leapt forward but as he did Xehanort raised his hand and the ground between him and Terra shot straight up, creating a large wall of rock. Terra was hit hard by the fast rising wall as he slid along the top for a short distance before stopping. He then looked up to see another wall of rock shoot up past him with Xehanort and the Sanzun armor on top of it.

The Sanzun armor then leapt from the top of the rock wall and rained a barrage of lightning bolts down on Terra who flinched as the lightning hit. Small patches of smoke and fire darkened the armor slightly as another rock wall flew up behind him.

Suddenly Ven and Aqua ran past him. He noticed them and ran off after them as Xehanort took instant notice of it.

With a wave of his hand, Xehanort called upon a whirlwind which began pulling all the Keyblades embedded in the ground into it.

Ven and the Sanzun armor clashed as Aqua fired a few shots of Blizzaga towards the warrior but stopped as she noticed the Keyblades had formed into a deadly long stream of Keyblades that proceeded to snake around towards them.

She and Ven ran away from the barrage which tore through part of the rock wall as the warrior leapt into the Keyblade storm while using one of the Keyblades as a surfboard while flinging Blizzaga rounds at them like mad.

He leapt off the storm as it proceeded to knock Ven to the ground. Aqua successfully dodged the rain of Blizzaga and Keyblades and leapt forwards the warrior who parried her blows with the Keyblade. She then landed and sent a powerful beam of lighting towards the warrior who expertly leapt out of the way and onto the snake of Keyblades.

Terra was running along the top of one of the cliffs as the long chain of Keyblades hit the ground where he was running and sent him toppling off the cliff. Aqua noticed from the ground and watched helplessly as he repeatedly hit the wall until finally driving his Keyblade into the wall in an effort to slow him down.

Suddenly the Keyblade swarm caused a large portion of the cliff to fall back on Terra. Aqua then felt something move beneath her and looked down just as a second Keyblade storm erupted from the ground and sent her flying into the air as the flurry of Keyblades impacted hard against her armor before she managed to escape it and fell to the ground.

As she fell though the Keyblade storm bowed slightly at the base just in time to hit her again. She felt her helmet torn apart and she let go of her Keyblade as she painfully hit the ground hard.

Ven ran up quickly to his friend's side as she pulled herself up. Then she quickly remembered Terra and that the Keyblade storm was about to hit him. Instinctively she grabbed her Keyblade and swung it behind her as a powerful beam of purple and blue magic streaked off from it and towards Terra.

The beam found Terra less than a second before a wave of Keyblades hit him and put a powerful bubble of magic around him, sending the Keyblades in all directions. It didn't last however as another chain of Keyblades started impacting against the shield repeatedly.

The chain of Keyblades sent him flying straight up into the air where Xehanort stood with his sinister smirk still on his face. The chain and the shielded Terra stopped for a brief moment before the shield exploded in a bright flash of light.

On the ground, an injured Aqua was breathing heavily as she watched Ven stand up and then run off. In the air the Keyblade chain finally ended and all of the Keyblades collected within it fell helplessly to the ground.

Terra fell through the air and hit the ground hard near Xehanort, his armor now battered and broken. He quickly pulled himself up and charged at the dark lord who quickly whirled around and summoned his Keyblade as the two started battling each other. After a second Xehanort hit him with a blast of Blizzaga which sent him flying away from him and he skidded to a landing nearby.

Terra realized he couldn't move his left arm and saw that it had been encased within a block of ice. He watched as the ice continued to freeze up his arm to his shoulders. He then glared at Xehanort angrily through his helmet.

Suddenly Ven appeared and swung his Keyblade as Xehanort instantly vanished only to reappear to the side in time to grab Ven by the head. Ven had always been a bit shorter than the rest of them and Xehanort mercilessly held the struggling Keyblade knight above the ground by the head.

Terra watched in horror as Xehanort narrowed his eyes while still maintaining his evil smile as he proceeded to crush Ven's helmet. The helmet began to crack and crumble as Terra pulled himself up only to be hit by the second Keyblade storm that the dark warrior had ridden away on. Terra fell tumbling to the ground amidst the Keyblade storm as the dark warrior landed next to his master.

Aqua, having finally mustered the strength to stand up, looked up and watched in horror as Ven continued struggling in Xehanort's grasp. Half of his face plate disappeared revealing a single blue eye gazing at her as if pleading for help.

Then without warning Xehanort cast Blizzaga on the poor knight at point blank, encasing the man within the ice as he held him over the cliff ledge. Xehanort proceeded to let go and allow the knight to fall helplessly towards the ground against the cliff ledge.

As he fell, his Keyblade hit the ledge and shattered into a number of tiny pieces. He finally hit the ground and slid right up next to Aqua who held him as she searched for a sign that he still lived. She fought back the tears as she could see his big blue eyes move slightly towards her with most of the helmet practically destroyed.

Back up on the ledge Xehanort's Keyblade vanished and was replaced by a glowing purple and blue glowing sphere of energy which he slowly lifted up above him. A powerful streak of magic shot into the air from the sphere which hit the clouds overhead like a bolt of lightning, and in a massive shockwave the clouds started to open up as the sky turned blue from a light emanating from within.

Aqua looked up with a look of defiance on her face as she saw the source of the blue light…

It was Kingdom Hearts itself.

Xehanort looked up as he caused the towering cliff to start rising again towards the large heart shaped moon.

On the ground Terra yanked off his damaged helmet and glared angrily up into the sky.

But what none of them new was that far in the distance…brandishing the Star Seeker Keyblade stood the second apprentice…Mickey Mouse who stood glaring in defiance as Xehanort morphed the mountainous area where the battle took place into a castle like structure.

* * *

**Hours later…**

Xehanort stood atop the highest tower of the castle, trying to figure out how to gain access to Kingdom Hearts above, while within a dungeon deep within the castle, sat the three defeated knights. Their cell was simple, with a rock made wall, roof, and floor, with an iron portcullis gate on one wall and a single barred window near the tall roof that allowed a single ray of moonlight into the cell.

Terra sat sulking against one wall as he glared angrily at the opposite wall. He had learned through his now damaged armor, how to counter some of the physical side effects of being hit by Blizzaga such as frostbite. As a result his arm was a little sore but intact.

Aqua was doing her best to try and chip away the ice that encased Ven with a rock. Ven was still alive and relatively unharmed by the Blizzaga for the same reasons as Terra. He did however manage to catch a case of the sniffles and had all three of the tattered capes draped over his upper half as Aqua endlessly continued chipping at his feet.

"Ow." Ven said as Aqua hit him too hard.

"Sorry." She said sadly as Ven sneezed into the capes then groaned from the pain afterwards.

Finally Terra stood up and started pacing.

"Like that's going to do us any good." Ven said as Terra ignored him.

"The only thing it's going to do is make your feet tired." Ven said as Terra glared at him for a moment before he continued pacing.

"Terra for the last time…" Ven said as Terra spun around angrily and interrupted him…

"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO MR ICE BUCKET!" Terra growled.

"Terra!" Aqua said disbelievingly at his comment.

"And you! Miss one hit with a Keyblade snake and ka-boom! You're out!" Terra said as Aqua pulled herself up and slapped him across the face.

"Look here Terra!" She growled, "I may not be some strong and mighty fighter but I can sure as hell hold my own out there…what about you huh? I don't see you holding Xehanort's head on a pike either! And you have the gall to yell at US?!"

"You are just as much of a failure as the rest of us so sit down and SUCK IT UP!!" Aqua shouted as Terra finally lost his temper and shoved her away.

"No one tells me what to do." Terra said as Aqua drop kicked him and the two started brawling with each other. Finally after a few seconds of beating each other senseless they were broken up by a swift kick from an ice covered boot.

"That. Is. ENOUGH!!" Ven shouted angrily as he tried to maintain his balance on his ice covered legs, "Look at yourselves…you are both so wrapped up in your anger at having been defeated and your wounded pride that you're both ready to kill one another…and where would that get us huh?! Will that help us escape?! Will that undo everything that happened a few hours ago?! No it won't! It won't do anything except soften us up for whatever hideous fate that Xehanort has in store for us! What we should be doing is trying to find a way to escape."

The two sat in silence as Ven lost his balance on his ice covered feet and fell backwards to the ground.

"Ow." He grumbled as Aqua sighed and looked at Terra with a glum look on her face. Terra looked back and nodded as they both moved over and started chipping away at the ice around Ven's feet, being careful not to injure him as they went.

Thirty minutes later Mickey stealthily crept into the castle as he continued his personal mission to find the captive knights.

Back in the cell, Ven was finally up and around thanks to Aqua and Terra and was standing next to the cell door.

"I thought Aerith said that the armor was unbreakable." Aqua said as Terra shrugged.

"Perhaps it's this place…perhaps it makes it where the armor isn't as strong as it usually is." Terra replied.

"What is this place anyway?" Aqua asked as Terra sighed and shrugged.

Ven then noticed something on the gate. It was a strange pattern, a pattern that he had seen before. He curiously moved his hand near the pattern which started to glow yellow. Then something occurred to him.

"Can it really be that simple?" Ven said as he placed his hand on the pattern and in a flash of bright yellow light, large chunks of the gate started breaking off and reforming the once damaged armor around him. The armor had rebuilt itself and was grander than ever along with his Keyblade.

"Ven!! How did you do that?!" Aqua asked as she and Terra scrambled to their feet in amazement.

"Touch the gate…trust me." Ven replied as they instantly touched separate portions of the gate and instantly in flashes of blue and red light their armor started piecing themselves back together upon their respective wearers.

"I don't believe it." Aqua said in disbelief as Terra looked upwards.

"Do you feel that? I don't feel like there's as much darkness anymore. It's as if Xehanort's power has diminished…but how?" Terra asked as the other's shrugged.

"Well I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth now let's get out of here." Ven said as they turned towards where the gate once was and the three crept out silently and quickly. From around a nearby corner, Mickey spotted the knights escape and stealthily ran over to them.

"Mickey!" They said in an excited whisper.

"How did you get here?" Ven whispered excitedly.

"I magically teleported onto that small gummy ship before you three launched, and then when the beam appeared it only looked like it destroyed the ship…in truth it simply sent both me and the ship here." Mickey explained as the knights nodded.

"Well at least we have an opportunity to escape…now let's take it." Aqua said as Ven shook his head.

"No we have to stop Xehanort first. If he learns how to use Kingdom Hearts, he will be unstoppable." Ven replied as Aqua sighed.

"Then no one will be safe…not even Kairi." Aqua said as Terra placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Not if we have anything to say about it." He said with a smile.

"Then let's end this...once and for all." Ven said as the other three nodded and summoned their weapons. Their helmets appeared on their heads again as they spotted a staircase leading up to the top of the tower.

* * *

**End Chapter 46.**

One more to go…

Oh and yes the entire first part there was the Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix + secret trailer…just in writing.


	47. Birth by Sleep

At the top of the tower Xehanort growled from impatience.

"I don't understand…what am I missing? I should easily be able to use this thing but why can't I?" Xehanort asked impatiently.

He knew why he had grown so strong during the battle. He had Weiss and a mutual acquaintance of the two of them, channeling their power to him. But now they weren't any longer and the projection of Sanzun's armor had vanished because of it.

He was now much weaker, that and having the three knights still alive in the dungeon, who could escape any minute only made him afraid. Without the power of Kingdom Hearts or the power of his comrades he was vulnerable and he knew it. However he still had one last defense up his sleeve.

He stood impatiently watching the moon, as he expected it any second now to grant him unimaginable power. Little did he realize that the three knights were climbing up the stairway to him at that very moment.

They were moving as fast as they could up the stairs with Mickey next to them. Suddenly Mickey fell on his face. His tail was caught in between the stone bricks of the staircase.

"Go on without me I'll catch up!" he said as the three knights looked at each other before nodding and continuing on their way.

They finally reached the top where Xehanort was still ignorant of their presence. They crept up to him slowly and quietly, their armor not even making a sound. Then Xehanort's magic senses flared and he sensed their presence behind him.

He quickly spun around and used his powers to knock them against the wall.

Terra quickly pulled himself up as Xehanort summoned a glowing green sphere in his hand. Terra charged just as Xehanort thrust his hand forward and consumed Terra in a bright flash.

"Terra!!" Ven and Aqua yelled as the light faded revealing the armor still standing there with Xehanort and his hand still pressed against the armor. Terra just stood there frozen in place with the Keyblade over his head for a moment. Then the armor started to collapse, piece by piece, revealing a semi-transparent Terra standing where the armor had collapsed.

Terra was confused but quickly took a swing at the dark lord, but his fist passed straight through him as if he (Terra) was made of air.

Ven and Aqua quickly climbed to their feet as Xehanort started cackling evilly.

"What did you do to him?!" Ven growled as Xehanort reared his hand back again with another glowing green energy sphere. Ven charged forward and swung at the dark lord who dodged and hit him with the same magic as he had Terra.

Ven's armor fell apart piece by piece revealing a semi-transparent Ven. Aqua stood there disbelievingly as she realized what had to be done.

"This is for Mune you monster." She said as her hands started glowing bright blue and white, and Xehanort reared back his hand with another green sphere of energy and they both unleashed their power at each other in a blinding flash of light that could be seen for miles.

As it faded Xehanort blinked a couple of times before falling to the floor in a coma.

Aqua stood frozen in the position she was in when she cast the spell on Xehanort. Terra and Ven both looked at her with a smile on their faces.

"_You did it!!" _Ven said excitedly then frowned as he saw the armor collapse and reveal a semi-transparent Aqua.

"_What did he do to us?!" _Terra said as Mickey appeared with Keyblade in hand. Mickey then stopped as he noticed the three ghost-like knights.

"What happened?" Mickey asked confused.

"_I think Xehanort either killed us…or made us non-corporeal." _Terra replied as they all looked at him confused.

"_What are you talking about Terra?" _Aqua asked confused.

"_Non-corporeal…it like being invisible and intangible." _Terra explained as he started heading for the stairs only to wind up doing the spacewalk as both he and his armor started glowing bright red.

"_Terra now isn't a time for disco…" _Ven said as he started walking towards the staircase, _"…so stop dancing and…what the heck?!" _Ven was spacewalking too as both he and his armor started glowing bright yellow.

"_Uh oh…uh guys!!"_ Aqua said as she started running for the staircase only to find herself doing a space run.

"_What did he do to us?!" _Ven asked as Aqua looked at Mickey.

"_Can you undo this?" _She asked hopefully as Mickey shook his head.

"I can't." Mickey replied sadly as the knight's hearts sank, "Xehanort's spell can only be broken when certain requirements have been fulfilled…It could be years before the time is right."

(Music Cue: 1000 words – FFX-2 Piano Collection)

The Knights looked at each other distraught as something entered Terra's mind.

"_Wait…remember when we were in that weird place with that voice that wouldn't shut up?" _Terra asked as Ven and Aqua nodded, _"It said that ten years of silence would follow…perhaps it meant not just ten years without some great tragedy…it meant ten years without us too."_

"_What?! I promised Lulu that I would return when this was over! I can't stay like this for ten years!!" _Ven said as Aqua was shocked.

"_Kairi…I won't get to see Kairi grow up…" _Aqua said as a tear rolled down her cheek, _"…I won't be there when she goes off to school, when she starts bringing boy's home, when she gets into makeup…I'll miss all of it."_

"_We're all going to miss ten years of our children's lives…" _Terra said as the horrible reality set in, _"I'm going to miss most of Riku's childhood…not to mention that I'll miss Zack's career as a SOLDIER."_

"_I won't get to see Sora's smiling face again." _Ven said as he lowered his head, _"Nor will I get to smell Lulu's hair, or get to dance with her on Valentine's Day...and…I won't get to fulfill my promise."_

Ven looked as if he was lost in thought as Mickey sighed.

"_My promise…how can I fulfill my promise." _Ven started saying repeatedly as he started plunging into silent madness.

"_Ven?" _Aqua said as she tried to shake him out of it but to no avail as he faded into his armor.

"_Mickey…" _Terra said as he turned to the mouse, _"…You must not tell anyone what happened…I don't want anyone to risk their lives in search of me…especially Riku or Zack."_

"_Me too." _Aqua replied as Mickey lowered his head.

"Gosh…I wish it didn't have to come to this but…I'll keep your secret…and I'll separate your armor so that you will remain hidden until the time is right." Mickey said as the other two nodded.

"_Take care old friend…and never forget about us." _Terra said as he slowly faded away into his armor.

"_Be sure to keep the light on for us." _Aqua said with a smile as she too faded away.

Mickey was now alone. Before him lay the empty armor and discarded Keyblades of three of the greatest friends he had known. Lying comatose on the floor was the enemy of the universe…Xehanort…the fallen apprentice.

Mickey sighed as he pulled a small device from his pocket and called the Tiny Bronco to him.

* * *

The Universe changed that day.

With Midgar gone, the Universe's economic structure collapsed. Montressor became a ghost town. Gummy ship travel became next to non-existent.

The Struggle Tournaments lost interest and soon the only place where tournaments could be found was in Twilight Town. However Setzer Gabbiani was forced to sell his mansion outside of town due to the sudden collapse of the Struggle Tournament industry.

Squall Lionheart left the Turks and his former Protégé; Seifer downed an anti-ageing serum and became six years old once again. As a result he ran away to Twilight Town where he befriended a boy named Raijin and an albino girl named Fujin.

The young girl that Zack had saved during the battle at Radiant Garden, Cissnei, was inspired to become a Turk because of Zack's actions that day.

Xehanort was discovered to have amnesia when he finally awoke in a secret hospital ward in Radiant Garden. He was secretly made an apprentice scientist by Ansem the Wise.

Aerith and Cid remained in Radiant Garden, not willing to leave incase the knights were to return unexpectedly.

Vincent decided to try and find a way to remove the dark taint within him and disappeared without warning one day.

Wall-e and M-O were digitized into the most secure memory file in the castle mainframe along with the Fahrenheit to await the return of their masters.

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine joined together to become a group of treasure hunters known as the Gullwings. Though Rikku never really got over Ven's disappearance…she had grown to love him like a father.

Zack returned to Edge where he worked to restore the ranks of SOLDIER.

Cloud went off in search of Sephiroth.

Irvine returned to Rocket Town.

Basil continued his campaign to rid the city of Rattigan with the aid of a mouse doctor named Dawson.

Yen Sid returned to his tower in Twilight Town where he lived in seclusion.

Kimahri returned to Spira where he continued to pass down the story of the great Kingdom Knights. He eventually became the Chieftain of the entire Ronso tribes for his service to the Knights.

Mickey returned to Disney Castle.

Kairi was returned personally to the Islands by Yen Sid in the dead of night where she was taken in by the mayor and his wife.

As for the armor of our heroes, they remained hidden away in various places by Mickey. Ven's was hidden in a world of nothingness near Twilight Town. Terra's was hidden in the basement of an abandoned old castle. Aqua's was hidden in a secret level of Ansem's castle in Radiant Garden.

Back on the islands, Lulu would look up at the stars on a nightly basis, looking for any sign that her love was still out there or at least still alive. But no sign came.

For years she would watch Sora, Riku, and Kairi grow up, and they would not even have a clue about who their real parents were.

Her only link to her past…the only reminder she carried was a single crown shaped necklace made of polished steel which she kept in a box inside her room.

Nine years pass, and she gives Sora the necklace as a birthday present, telling him it is a birthday present from his father.

When he asked who his father was she smiled and silently put him to sleep with magic. She then went back to her room and cried herself to sleep.

But little did she realize that she would still see him again.

* * *

**End Chapter 47.**

Well I know it's not a happy ending but this is only the first chapter of a much larger story.

I hope you enjoyed it and I'm glad you were so patient with me.

Now look forward to Reunion II where it all comes together.


	48. Epilogue

**A/N: **You had to have known I would write an Epilogue.

* * *

"I've been having these strange thoughts lately."

"Like is any of this for real or not?

A Blue eyed, brown spiky haired, fourteen year old boy awoke. He had just had the strangest dream where he was taught to wield a strange key shaped weapon.

He sat up for a moment and saw the sand covered beach with the ocean sloshing up against it. He then yawned and laid back down, only to see the upside down face of another person.

A girl.

A girl with short hair.

A girl with short red hair.

"WHOAH!!" the boy shouted, startled as he sat up and got on his hands and knees as the girl giggled.

"Gimme a break, Kairi." He laughed.

"Sora you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here." Kairi prodded.

"No this huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't- OW!" Sora grunted as Kairi knocked him upside the head.

"Are you still dreaming?" she asked disbelievingly.

"It wasn't a dream!" Sora replied, "Or was it? I don't know…What was that place? So Bazaar."

"Yeah sure." Kairi said as she walked past him a short distance towards the shore.

"Say, Kairi, What was your hometown like?" Sora asked, "You know, where you grew up?"

"I told you before, I don't remember." She replied nonchalantly. In truth she currently lived on her homeworld, though she never knew it…nor cared.

"Nothing at all?" Sora asked.

"Nothing." She replied.

"You ever want to go back?" He asked.

"Mmm, well, I'm happy here." She replied.

"Really?" he asked with a bored tone.

"But you know…" she replied, "…I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too." He said, "Along with any other worlds out there! I want to go and see 'em all!"

"So what are we waiting for?" she asked as she turned towards him.

"Hey!" an older voice belonging to a white haired fifteen year old boy interrupted.

"Aren't you guy's forgetting about me?" He asked holding a log under his arm, "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft."

He proceeded to throw the log on top of Sora as he passed the boy, causing Kairi to giggle.

"And you're just as lazy as he is!" He said with a smirk to the giggling red head.

"So you noticed." Kairi replied with a giggle, "Okay, we'll finish it together. I'll race you!"

"Huh?" Sora said as Riku sat down on the sand next to him.

"What, are you kidding?" Riku replied as a playful smirk swept Kairi's face.

"Ready! GO!!" she shouted as the two boys looked at each other for a brief second in disbelief then instantly jumped up and ran off with Kairi chasing close behind after them, giggling as she ran.

Little did these three kids know that they were destined for greatness and that this was the beginning of the first of many adventures that they would have for the rest of their lives.

* * *

**The End…or is it?**


End file.
